NEWARK, N.J. -- Seton Hall began its most highly anticipated season in almost 20 years by dominating Fairleigh Dickinson 90-68 on Friday at the Prudential Center.

The 23rd-ranked Pirates, enjoying their highest preseason ranking since the 2000-01 season when they were No. 10, controlled every facet in winning their 13th in the last 15 meetings with their in-state rivals.

With four seniors starting for coach Kevin Willard, the Pirates were overwhelming in the paint, enjoying a 46-24 differential. They outrebounded FDU 44-27 and assisted on 22 of 33 made field goals.

Desi Rodriguez tossed in 17 points and Angel Delgado recorded the 51st double-double of his career for Seton Hall, scoring 10 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Khadeen Carrington, playing his first game at point guard for Seton Hall after playing off the ball in his first three seasons, had eight points, six assists and only one turnover.

Freshman Myles Cale added 12 points off the Seton Hall bench.

"These guys enjoy passing, they enjoy making the extra pass and when you have four or five guys who can score, that usually leads to making shots," said Willard. "We played as well as we could have."

The Knights were without standout guard Darian Anderson, who is day-to-day with a leg injury. Anderson is the active leader in scoring (1,326 points) in the Northeast Conference.

Fairleigh Dickinson was led by Mike Holloway and Darnell Edge, who scored 13 points apiece.

"He (Anderson) is our (Green Bay quarterback) Aaron Rodgers," admitted FDU coach Greg Herenda. "It's hard to play without our senior leader, scorer and defender against a great team like Seton Hall, but I'm really excited about freshmen."

One of those players Herenda spoke of, guard Jahil Jenkins, contributed eight assists for FDU in the face of a tough three-quarter press. He also committed four turnovers.

"The goal was to speed him (Jenkins) up," noted Willard. "I think he's going to be a very good player, but we wanted to pressure him and get him worn out."

Seton Hall's 8-0 run increased its lead to 63-40 with 12:49 to play. Fairleigh Dickinson never got closer than 55-40 in the second half before the aforementioned Pirate burst.

"Once they got the lead, then they separated themselves from us," Herenda said. "But this was terrific opportunity to get on the floor and compete against a top 25 team."

The Pirates scored 15 points off Knights turnovers, leading to a 47-28 halftime advantage. Seton Hall dished out 12 assists on 16 baskets in the half.

Seton Hall used a 15-0 run over 2:29 to move ahead 31-17 with 8:20 left in the first half. Rodriguez contributed nine points in the sequence.

The Pirates took their first lead at 13-12 on a layup from Rodriguez with 13:20 left in the half. The Knights had led by as many as seven.

"I knew once we got the first timeout we could relax and take a deep breath," said Willard. "You have four seniors and a sophomore, they are going to take care of business."

NOTES: Seton Hall C Angel Delgado and G Khadeen Carrington were named to the preseason All-Big East first team. ... The Pirates were picked to finish second to Villanova in the preseason Big East Conference coaches poll. ... Seton Hall returns 90 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last season's team. ... Fairleigh Dickinson assistant coach Bruce Hamburger was an assistant at Seton Hall for nine years. ... Seton Hall continues its in-state rivalry on Sunday when it hosts Monmouth. ... FDU travels to Penn State on Sunday.