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Preview: Seton Hall opens 2021 vs. Butler at home

Date: January 1, 2021

By: Will Swankie

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Will Swankie/WSOU Sports

As the final seconds winded down inside the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio it was the visiting Seton Hall Pirates walking off the court with a signature win - knocking off the now 8-2 Xavier Musketeers 85-68 as six of coach Kevin Willard’s eight main rotation players eclipsed double figures. With a record of 7-4, and four in-conference wins, the Pirates will head home to welcome the Butler Bulldogs to tip-off what is most certainly a more than necessary change to the calendar year. 

 

To almost no one’s surprise, 2020 wasn’t kind to the Pirates. For starters, Seton Hall’s Big East and NCAA Tournament campaigns were cut short due to the cancellation of both events. Pirate fans also had to cope with the departure of Myles Powell as well as Quincy McKnight, Romaro Gill, and the knowledge that none would not be returning for the following season. 

 

However, the year wasn’t all doom and gloom for coach Willard’s club. The program secured its first Big East regular-season championship since 1993, and despite the inconclusive nature of a season with circumstances out of their control, the 2019-20 Pirates team will forever be in the conversation for the best in school history. 

Ironically, the last days of 2020 were memorable for Seton Hall. A well-rounded win against Big East rival Xavier answered many questions surrounding the new look Pirates. Newcomer Bryce Aiken had his best outing of the season with 11 points and provided a spark of bench scoring that had been absent until Wednesday. 

 

On Jan. 2, the Pirates will play host to the Butler Bulldogs, who much like the rest of us will be eager to forget the tumultuous year being left behind. The Bulldogs have felt the wrath of COVID-19 on their schedule. They come into their matchup against the Pirates with just six games under their belt with their 2-4 record placing them seventh in the Big East with a 1-2 record within the conference. Last season Seton Hall swept Butler, defeating them twice.

 

Much like this year, the first clash between the two teams came in January. The then 15th ranked Pirates traveled into Hinkle Fieldhouse to face the then fifth-ranked Bulldogs. It was undoubtedly Powell who led the way for a Pirate victory scoring 29 points followed by Gill who contributed 17. The second matchup between the two teams came a month later. This time in front of a packed Prudential Center crowd where it came down to the final seconds. Once again, the now departed big three of McKnight, Gill, and Powell had their way in the scoring column, but it was Sandro Mamukelashvili who played the hero for Seton Hall. With just 0.4 seconds remaining and McKnight inbounding along the baseline the ball was thrown in to Mamukelashvili who had barely enough time to sink a contested layup as time expired. 

The events of this game may have been foreshadowing what was to come this season from Mamukelashvili. Stepping into a leading role for the Pirates, Mamu has been the catalyst for the Seton Hall offense averaging a career-best and team-high 18.2 points-per-game. 

 

As for the Bulldogs their roster has seen some shuffling since their dramatic loss to the Pirates back in February. They’ve felt the departure of guard Kamar Baldwin as well as forward Sean McDermott. Despite their losses, Butler is led by the veteran duo of Aaron Thompson and Jair Bolden, averaging 17.5 points-per-game and 14.2 points-per-game respectively. The Pirates will have to key in on the Bulldogs’ guards if they wish to contain the Butler offense. 

Guard play is going to be a point of emphasis for the Pirates as well. As mentioned before fifth-year senior Aiken is coming off his best performance of the season. Aiken has been plagued by injuries and inconsistent playing time so it will be important for him to string together two solid games in order to earn coach Willard’s trust. A Pirates win on Saturday would make it three straight in-conference wins for Seton Hall.

 

They will certainly hope to continue strong play before facing a nationally ranked Creighton team on Jan. 6. Make sure to tune in to 89.5 FM WSOU where Jorie Mickens and Rony Jerez will have the call with pre-game coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. and tip-off scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Will Swankie can be reached at wiliam.swankie@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Game Previews, Men's Basketball, Sports, WSOU

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