Seton Hall Pirates (5-8, 14-11) at St. John's Red Storm (3-10, 12-14)

Sunday, Feb. 22—5:00 PM EST on The Big East Network Local

Preview

Seton Hall has lost two games in a row to UConn and Marquette—a fact that shouldn't surprise many people. Prior to that, though, they managed a five-game win streak—with one of those wins coming over St. John's.

The Red Storm are currently on a five-game losing streak that began with a road loss to the Pirates. Three of their other four losses have come to top ten teams—Louisville, Marquette, and Duke. The fifth loss of the stretch came by ten to Cincinnati. They came back in the second half against Duke to only lose by seven, but aside from that they haven't been playing very convincing basketball.

The last time these two faced off, Seton Hall was favored by five. Since that game, the Pirates have gone 2-2 (but their losses have both come to top ten teams) and the Red Storm have gone 0-4 (but three of their losses have come to top ten teams).

The Pirates currently sit in eleventh in the Big East, and the Red Storm are thirteenth. Will St. John's be able to redeem themselves and stop their skid, or will the Pirates get a sweep this season? Only time will tell.

By The Numbers

Stat Leaders

Prediction

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Seton Hall Pirates (5-7, 14-10) at Marquette Golden Eagles (10-2, 21-4)

Tuesday, Feb. 17—8:00 PM EST

Preview

After losing their first two Big East games back-to-back on the road, Marquette (10-2, 21-4) came back in a big way with a 73-59 win over St. John's at home.

Seton Hall (5-7, 14-10) saw their own five-game win streak snapped by UConn on Saturday.

Both teams are looking to make a statement on Tuesday—the Pirates are looking for their second victory over a ranked Big East opponent, while the Golden Eagles need a big victory before going on their toughest stretch of the season.

After Pitt's upset of UConn Monday night, Marquette is tied for third in the Big East standings, and a win over the Pirates will tie them for second with Pitt. They are also one of four Big East teams with two losses.

The key players for the Golden Eagles lie within their senior backcourt—Jerel McNeal (20.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, .447 3P%) and Wesley Matthews (18.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, .394 3P%). Seton Hall's main source of offense is Jeremy Hazell (22.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, .348 3P%).

These two teams both need to win, but for very different reasons—this should make for a great game.

By The Numbers

Stats Leaders

Prediction

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All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com.

Connecticut Huskies (11-1, 23-1) at Seton Hall (5-6, 14-9)

Saturday, Feb. 14—12:00 PM EST

Preview

Anyone think that Big East play wasn't going to be exciting this season? The Georgetown Hoyas, who have won the regular season title for the past two years, currently sit in 11th.

Marquette was undefeated in conference play until a week and a half ago—now they have two losses.

Notre Dame was terrible in conference play and Louisville looked unstoppable, until the Irish destroyed the Cardinals, 90-57.

UConn looked like they were going to run away with everything until Jermone Dyson went down indefinitely with a knee injury on Wednesday.

That's the state of the Big East—pretty quiet, really...

The Huskies (11-1, 23-1) are going to find out if they can get it done without their second-highest scorer. Coach Calhoun plays a pretty shallow bench already (only seven players average more than 12 minutes per game), and the loss of Dyson is going to call upon some of their lesser-knowns to step up.

Seton Hall (5-6, 14-9) is now on a five-game win streak, although four of those wins have come over the bottom-quarter of the Big East. The key to their success is Jeremy Hazell, who is averaging over 20 points per game. If the Pirates can continue to find him, they may stand a chance of taking down the Huskies in the same manner that they defeated the Hoyas.

This is the second time these two have faced off this season—the first time, the Huskeis won at home, 76-61.

By The Numbers

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Prediction

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Seton Hall vs. DePaul

Free Pick: Seton Hall -2.0—Tue. Feb. 10 '09 9:00p

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Seton Hall enters into this tilt against DePaul in red-hot form, having won four straight games after starting their Big East conference schedule with a 0-6 mark. Wins are never easy to come by in this conference, as is evident by their host's 0-11 SU conference record.

That is why when the opportunity presents itself, teams like the Pirates must be prepared to answer the bell against inferior foes like the Blue Demons. I know the Pirates have a big game against Connecticut on deck for Saturday and are an undersized group that could be taken advantage of by a top tier coach like Jerry Wainwright, who has three players at 6'10" or better.

Despite having a good coach on the sidelines and a size advantage, the Blue Demons' talent base is lacking cohesiveness and is less than stellar, as is their propensity to end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

As mentioned above, DePaul has lost 11 straight games SU and continues to dump money hand over fist for their betting backers against the all important spread, as is evident by failing to cover 15 of their 19 games this season, which includes an extended 0-8 ATS L/8 home mark. It must also be noted that DePaul owns a nasty 1-11 ATS record as a home underdog or a pick dating back to last season.

It's obvious these two teams are operating at the proverbial opposite end of the performance spectrum, making taking the Pirates on a short line a viable wagering option. Yes, even here on the road in a look ahead situation.

Play on the Seton Hall—Courtesy of Alex Smart

Seton Hall Pirates (4-6, 13-9) at DePaul Blue Demons (0-11, 8-16)

Tuesday, Feb. 10—9:00 PM EST

Preview

The Blue Demons (0-11, 8-16) are still looking for their first Big East win and hope to find it when they host Seton Hall (4-6, 13-9) on Tuesday.

DePaul's chances of finding a Big East win are dwindling. Seton Hall is currently 10th in the Big East, and they only have two other opponents who are beneath them—St. John's at the end of February (currently 14th) and Georgetown to end their season (currently 11th). Their lack of success hasn't come from a lack of any talent, but rather a lack of depth. The top three Blue Demons average 45 of the team's average 65 points.

Seton Hall's Big East season started off exactly the same as the Blue Demons'—they lost their first six games, and it didn't look like they were going to stand a chance of being in the top half of the Big East. But they have since won four games—at home against Georgetown, Rutgers, and St. John's, and on the road at Rutgers. The Pirates are looking to string together a five-game win streak before hosting UConn on Saturday.

By The Numbers

Stat Leaders

Prediction

Current Line: Seton Hall -2.0

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*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

St. John's Red Storm (3-6, 12-9) at Seton Hall Pirates (2-6, 11-9)

Thursday, Feb. 5—9:00 PM EST

Preview

Both teams are having a tough year. The Red Storm (3-6, 12-9) have managed to win three conference games so far, but those wins have not been against strong opponents. They shocked the college hoops world with their upset over Notre Dame at the beginning of January, but then rattled off four losses before taking down Rutgers. Their only other win was over South Florida—the only team with a losing overall record at the start of conference play.

The Pirates (2-6, 11-9) started off conference play in a big slump—after losing their first six games, they have won two in a row over Georgetown and Rutgers. If Seton Hall can get by St. John's, they stand a very good chance of winning five in a row—after Thursday's game they face Rutgers again on Sunday before taking on DePaul on Tuesday.

By the Numbers

Prediction

Current Line: Seton Hall -5.0

St. John's ATS: 8-7, 2-6 when underdog.
Seton Hall ATS: 7-6, 2-3 when favored.

Seton Hall has a chance to salvage what is left of their season. They have had a very tough schedule to date, but their three opponents that they face twice are Rutgers, St. John's, and South Florida. The only team missing from that equation is DePaul.

St. John's hasn't been playing fantastic basketball recently—there was hope that they could do something this season after their upset of Notre Dame, but since then, they have lost a lot of basketball and it hasn't been pretty. The Red Storm have an average scoring margin of -8.57 since their Irish upset. Take away their two wins, though, and that becomes -17.6.

The Pirates know they have the ability to turn their season around—it started with their win over the Hoyas, and they are going to keep it going for as long as possible.

Ryan's Pick: Seton Hall -5.0

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*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Seton Hall Pirates
Thursday, Jan. 29—9:00 PM EST

Preview

Seton Hall (1-6, 10-9) is coming off their first Big East win of the season after upsetting Georgetown last Saturday. This is the second time this season Seton Hall has upset a ranked team, the first coming in November when they upset a then-ranked USC team.

Rutgers (0-7, 9-11) is one of the two winless in conference play Big East teams remaining. They have had a very tough schedule recently, but they have fallen short against their weaker opponents (they lost to St. John's by 11, Cincinnati by 12). The good news is that after they face Seton Hall, they take on the other winless Big East team (DePaul) before traveling to DC to take on Georgetown and then facing Seton Hall for the rematch of Thursday's game.

The Pirates have a favorable schedule coming up—they face Rutgers twice in their next three games, and in the middle take on St. John's. They could very well be in the middle of the Big East pack after this stretch if they can muster up wins in all three games.

The key to Seton Hall's success is Jeremy Hazell—the Pirates sophomore guard averaging 22.7 points per game and is shooting .341 from beyond the arc.

Stats

Prediction

Current Line: Seton Hall -8.0

Rutgers ATS: 7-7, 5-5 when underdog
Seton Hall ATS: 7-5, 2-2 when favored

The Pirates are averaging almost 11 more points per game than the Scarlet Knights, but are also allowing almost nine more points than Rutgers averages offensively. The Scarlet Knights have scored 59 points in each of their last three games while losing by 12, 19, and 11 points in each of the games. Had Rutgers actually scored in the last three minutes of the St. John's game, though, it would have been much closer.

Mike Rosario, the Scarlet Knight's freshman guard, should continue to find his stride. As he becomes more comfortable at the college level, Rutgers should begin to find some success.

Pick: Rutgers +8.0

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

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Preview

The Georgetown Hoyas (No. 12 AP, No. 14 Coaches, 3-3, 12-5) are coming off of a dismal performance at home where they lost to West Virginia on unforced turnovers and missed three point attempts (they went 2-16 from beyond the arc).

The Hoyas are now on a two-game losing streak for the second time this season—not a stat they should be particularly proud of.

Seton Hall (0-6, 9-9) is yet to win a Big East game this season, which is incredibly disappointing after their exciting November (when they upset a then-ranked USC team). I have been hard on the Pirates on more than a few occasions, most recently against Providence, and they are yet to show me that I shouldn't be.

In their last nine games, they have gone 1-8.

Stats

Prediction

Current Line: Georgetown -7.5

Georgetown ATS: 6-6, 5-4 when favored
Seton Hall ATS: 6-5, 4-3 when underdog

In the Pirates' last two home games, they have taken teams to overtime before succumbing to their tougher Big East brethren. While I thought that they had a lot of potential at the beginning of the season, losses to teams such as IUPUI and James Madison do not bode well for them.

They have been successful against the spread namely because of the large spread normally placed against them. I picked them against Connecticut because the Huskies were giving up 19 points to the Pirates.

As I said above, the Hoyas have struggled in their last two games. They lacked focus against West Virginia and an unfortunate blind technical call against Greg Monroe on the bench changed the tone of the Duke game. I am confident that JT3 will be able to ingrain in the Hoyas minds how important a road win is, especially if they can win big.

Pick: Georgetown -7.5

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

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Preview

The Friars (4-2, 12-6) are trying to secure their status as a bubble team (and not declare themselves NIT bound already), and they are off to the right start. While they have not defeated any of the top Big East, they have taken down DePaul, St. John's, and Cincinnati twice (originally a bubble team that is now almost definitely on their way to the NIT).

The Pirates (0-5, 9-8) started the season out on a high note—they upset a ranked USC team and shocked the nation. But since then, it's almost been all downhill. They are yet to win a conference game and have lost to the likes of IUPUI and James Madison. In fact, in their last eight games they are 1-7.

Providence has looked much stronger than Seton Hall, and it shows in the numbers. They are more accurate from the floor, grab more boards, and get more assists. The two defenses are comparable, and Seton Hall gets the nod from the charity stripe.

Prediction

Current Line: Providence -1.5

Providence ATS: 5-7-1, 3-5-1 when favored
Seton Hall ATS: 6-4, 4-2 when underdog

This is one of the closest spreads for both teams this season. Unfortunately for the Pirates, I do not see this game coming down to the wire and being decided by one point (or resulting in the first Pirate conference win of the season). The Friars have looked strong in conference play, even in their losses.

Pick: Providence -1.5

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Quick Picks features spread picks for the Top 25 teams according to the AP Poll. They are currently also featured at CFBPlace.com—and soon to be featured at CBBPlace.com

Seton Hall @ No. 4 Connecticut
2:00 PM EST

Current Line: Connecticut -19.0

Seton Hall has not played great basketball since the middle of December. Their claim to fame for the season is their mid-November upset of then-ranked USC, but their loss to Memphis the next day, the fact that they are 0-4 in Big East conference play and 1-6 in their last seven games really hurts them.

The Pirates have played four tough Big East opponents—they lost to Syracuse by 24, lost to West Virginia by 26, lost to Villanova by four in overtime, and lost to Notre Dame by nine. Connecticut has a much more complete package then the rest of these teams, though.

In Connecticut's five Big East games, they have lost to Georgetown by 11, defeated Rutgers by 31, defeated West Virginia by six, defeated Cincinnati by nine, and defeated St. John's by 12. They have been dominant in these games, but they haven't had breakout scores (except against Rutgers).

This doesn't give me confidence that Connecticut is going to dominate the Pirates by 19.

Pick: Seton Hall +19.0

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