Pirates Look to Defend the Rock Against First Place Creighton

Published: Saturday, January 3, 2026

by AJ Rayer

NEWARK, N.J. - The Seton Hall Pirates (12-2, 2-1) will kick off 2026 at home against the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday afternoon (9-5, 3-0) in a matchup between two of the BIG EAST’s hottest teams.

Last time out, the Pirates showed a lot of resilience managing a comeback to defeat a struggling Marquette team on the road. Marquette led for most of the second half until the Pirates finished the game on a 13-0 run over the last 2:54. Stephon Payne and AJ Staton-McCray led the way for the Pirates with 14 points each. Payne also grabbed an astounding 22 rebounds Tuesday night.

Turning to Creighton, they enter Sunday on a four game winning streak, defeating the likes of Butler, Marquette, and Xavier in BIG EAST play. The Bluejays have had a balanced scoring attack on the season, with only the senior Iowa transfer Josh Dix and junior Jasen Green averaging double figures on the year. 

Green led Creighton with 23 points last time out in the 89-85 win over Butler and shot an efficient 8-11 from the field. Dix was named BIG EAST player of the week on December 29th.

Since Shaheen Holloway has taken over as Seton Hall head coach, Creighton is 6-0 against the Pirates. However, the all-time series is tied at 16 a piece between the Pirates and Bluejays. In terms of the NET rankings, Seton Hall is currently sitting at 44th while Creighton sits at 49th. 

This makes Sunday’s game in Newark a Quad 1 game for Creighton and a Quad 2 game for Seton Hall, an important game for both sides in terms of bolstering their NCAA tournament resumes.

Sunday’s game will definitely be a battle to the finish, although Creighton has five losses on the season, with three of those five losses coming against opponents who are all currently ranked in the top 13 of the AP poll. There has also been a lot of newcomers for Creighton in terms of scoring production, with four of the top five scorers for Creighton being new to Greg McDermott’s program.

For the Pirates, Budd Clark will be a key contributor on Sunday, as he finished with 12 points and six assists at Marquette and made several key plays down the stretch to secure the win. Najai Hines played for the first time since the Rutgers game on December 13th against Marquette. Although he played limited minutes, he should have an increased role against Creighton as he eases back to playing condition.

As long as the Pirates stay disciplined early, limit Creighton’s looks from beyond the arc, and control the boards, they should have a great chance to secure their third BIG EAST win of the season and end a three-year drought against Creighton. 

Lauren Reese and Caitlin Barrar have the call from the Prudential Center at 12:00 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 11:30 p.m., hosted by Chris Heite and Anthony Collins.

AJ Rayer can be reached at alexander.rayer@student.shu.edu.

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