Game Preview: Seton Hall looks to bounce back at Providence (1/15/19)

Date: January 14, 2019

By Mat Mlodzinski

The Seton Hall men’s basketball team will take on the Providence Frairs Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence.

 

The Pirates, who are coming off of a closely contested away loss to a ranked Marquette team, still find themselves at 12-5 (3-2), but they look to boost their resume against Providence. The Friars on the other end, come in to the game at 10-6 (0-3), and are in dire need of a Big East victory to keep pace with the rest of the conference.

 

For Seton Hall, the game will come down to stopping Alpha Diallo, who assumed the lead role after the Friar’s off guard, A.J. Reeves became sidelined with an injury in early December. Diallo, who plays over 36 minutes per game, leads his team in scoring (17.4 PPG), rebounds (8.8 RPG), and assists (3.3 APG). He will most likely be guarded by a combination of Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden, who have the length and speed to slow him down.

 

The Friars also lack size, with Nate Watson (6-10, 250) being their tallest and biggest player. Seton Hall should be able to use their height as an advantage, being able to shuffle around Sandro Mamukelashvili, Michael Nzei, Taurean Thompson, and Darnell Brodie in the frontcourt.

 

Ultimately, the game will come down to Seton Hall’s ability to score. The Pirates should have no problem defending Providence, as they have favorable defensive matchups across the board. If Myles Powell and company can get going early on, it should be an easy win for Seton Hall, who would find themselves at 13-5 (4-2) with DePaul coming up at home on Saturday with a victory.

 

Mat Mlodzinski can be reached at matthew.mlodzinski@student.shu.edu.

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