Game preview: Seton Hall faces Butler

Date: February 19, 2020

By: Joe Cammarota

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Seton Hall will attempt to end their two-game skid again No. 21 Butler Bulldogs at the Prudential Center. These two teams met earlier in the Big East season when Seton Hall won at Hinkle Fieldhouse, 78-70.

Both teams have changed a bit since that meeting; for Seton Hall they got big man Sandro Mamukelashvili back in the lineup. Mamukelashvili has been vital to helping Seton Hall win a few close games, like their historic win at Villanova where he scored a clutch seventeen points to win 70-64.

Seton Hall has had some problem in their last couple of games which resulted in loses to Creighton and Providence. Head coach Kevin Willard said that due to some poor attitudes the lineup may get shortened to a six-man rotation.

In the Creighton match up, Seton Hall had a decent supporting cast, but Myles Powell was not able to get going, only scoring twelve points and hitting one three pointer that occurred in garbage time. Another issue plaguing Seton Hall in that game was poor defense towards the end.

Looking at the Providence game, Seton hall started off slow, and could not overcome the 25-point deficit they faced in the first half. Powell had a good game rebounding, but this time there was not much support.

Taking a look at Butler, they have went 2-3 in their last five games with a loss last time to Georgetown. Butler is led by Kamar Baldwin who is averaging 16 points and 4.5 boards per game. He is a very efficient player who shoots 41% from the field.

Another star for Butler is Sean McDermott who is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game. McDermott, a forward, shoots 40% from behind the arc and is someone Seton Hall cannot allow to get hot if they want to right the ship.

For Seton Hall to win this game they need a few things to happen. First and most importantly they cannot fall behind early. Butler is an elite basketball team and if they get ahead by more than 15 points, they will not give Seton Hall a chance to get back in the game like Providence did. Seton Hall has the home crowd advantage; they need to take advantage of it.

Secondly, Seton Hall needs to have people step up behind Powell. The Hall has seen sophomore Jared Rhoden improve mightly in his second season as a Pirate and they need him to continue having strong performances. Mamukelashvili will also need to have a Villanova esque game. The wild card on Seton Hall right now is Myles Cale.

The junior has not been the option on offense that many thought he would be this year, but he has been a defensive specialist this year. Will he be able to turn his offense around against Butler?

The third thing that Seton Hall needs to have happen is a strong start from Powell. He said himself that he is more of a second half player, but if he can set the tone early on for the Hall it will get the crowd pumped and help the Pirates and his confidence immensely.

Joe Cammarota can be reached at joseph.cammarota@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Men's Basketball