WSOU

Preview: Pirates Open Up BIG EAST Tournament with Showdown vs Blue Demons

Date: March 8, 2023

By: John Makuch

Tyrese Samuel at Walsh Gymnasium.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU

The ball before the big dance has arrived, and the No. 7-seeded Seton Hall Pirates are looking to punch their ticket to the madness by winning the BIG EAST Tournament.

In their way though, are the No. 10-seeded DePaul Blue Demons, who are yet to reach a BIG EAST Tournament championship game in their school’s history.

Today begins just the first round, with both schools looking to make a statement, and wash away some of the woes they had during the regular season.

Seton Hall has already begun that process with a statement win against the then No. 20 Providence Friars on the road on March 4. Providence had only lost one game at home all season long, and then the Pirates came into their house and stormed out the Friars with an 82-58 victory.

For the first year of the Shaheen Holloway era, the Pirates have seen milestones for a head coach in his first season. Coach Holloway had the most total wins, most BIG EAST wins, and most road wins for a BIG EAST head coach in their first year.

Safe to say, the Pirates are in good hands regardless of the result of the BIG EAST Tournament.

As for this matchup against DePaul, Seton Hall leads the all-time series 17-6, with the Pirates currently on a three-game winning streak against the Blue Demons. This will also be the first time these two teams will meet in Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament.

DePaul is currently on a 12-game losing streak, with their last victory coming against Xavier back on Jan. 18.

This Blue Demons squad has worked with transfers for this season, including Oklahoma transfer Umoja Gibson. Gibson shoots 41 percent from three-point range and averages 15.8 points per game.

Defending him would be Kadary Richmond, but the second-year Pirate has been out since the first half of the UConn game with a back injury, and time will tell if he can play.

That means Al-Amir Dawes will have to continue to be a star for Seton Hall as he has in the past few games. He dished out three assists, knocked down three shots from behind the arc, and finished with 11 points versus Providence.

The Hall has also gotten plenty out of Pittsburgh transfer Femi Odukale, who shot a 7-of-10 clip with eight rebounds, five assists, and 17 points.

At this time of the year, some players elevate their game to a different level when things come down to the wire, and Odukale has done exactly that.

While Seton Hall has more talent with Richmond in the lineup, these Pirates have stepped up greatly in his absence, almost beating Villanova and obliterating Providence.

This may be a team that is slowly putting it all together, and the pieces may be coming along at just the perfect time.

However, it starts with DePaul, and if Seton Hall can win, they have a date with Xavier on Thursday, which would be a tough contest and then some.

Joe Matthews and Jonathan Heite will have your coverage of this matchup on 89.5 FM WSOU, with pregame coverage beginning at 5 p.m. and tipoff at 5:30.

John Makuch is the News Director at WSOU and can be reached at john.makuch@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Game Previews

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