Some preliminary schedule info is out for New Jersey’s Big East programs….
**Seton Hall opens the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic against USC on Nov. 20, with the winner likely to meet Tyreke Evans and Memphis the following day. Fairfield, Missouri, Virginia Tech and Xavier are also in the tourney.
During their stay, the Pirates will meet with native Puerto Rican and Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame member Ramon Ramos at a special dinner hosted by the Pirate Blue Athletic Fund. Ramos helped lead the team to its first-ever NCAA appearance in 1988 and then earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors in 1988-89, while leading Seton Hall to the Final Four, where the Pirates lost the NCAA Championship game to Michigan by one point in overtime. He was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA but had his career cut short tragically just six games into his first season when a car accident left him in a coma. Ramos has since lived in his native land of Puerto Rico under the care of his family.
**Mike Rosario and Rutgers open their season at Delaware on Nov. 16 as part of the Garden State Tipoff Classic. Seton Hall hosts Delaware Nov. 29.