WSOU

Preview: Pirates Take on Hoyas at the Rock in Must-Win BIG EAST Battle

Date: February 14, 2023

By: Nate Taylor

Tray Jackson scanning the court against Villanova.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU

After winning seven of their last eight, the Seton Hall Pirates (15-11, 8-7 CONF) have lost two consecutive games after dropping one to Villanova 58-54 on Saturday.

They’ll have a good opportunity to grab a win here on Tuesday against a struggling Georgetown Hoyas team (6-20, 1-14 CONF) who sit at the bottom of the BIG EAST and are just 1-14 against conference opponents.

Seton Hall currently rests at sixth in the BIG EAST with a record of 15-11 overall and a conference record of 8-7.

In their loss against Villanova, The Hall really struggled to get anything going offensively which has been a problem before. Tyrese Samuel led the way with 14 points on 7-of-11 from the field.

The only other Pirates to score in double figures were Kadary Richmond and Al-Amir Dawes, who both shot below 50% from the field for the game. For Dawes, this was disappointing following a 19-point performance against Creighton, on 7-of-13 from the field which included 5 for 8 from downtown.

On the other hand, Seton Hall’s opponents in these back-to-back losses have been absolutely lethal from three. Both Villanova and Creighton shot 40 percent or better from the three-point line against The Hall.

Looking over at the Georgetown side, they’re coming off a loss to Marquette 89-75, which marks their fifth loss in a row. The Hoyas have lost by double digits in three of those past five losses.

If the Pirates wants to extend the Hoyas’ losing streak to six, they’ll have to look to pick up their three-point shooting against a team with very weak perimeter defense. Georgetown gives up the ninth highest three-point percentage to Division I opponents in the entire country, and also allow the seventh most makes per game from beyond the arc.

Georgetown is an offense who isn’t very efficient shooting the ball, going up against a very good defensive team. Seton Hall will need to stick to their defensive identity throughout this contest. If their full court press works like it has before, then the Hoyas’ offense, or lack thereof, could get flustered very early on.

Seton Hall is top 40 in both blocks and steals going up against this Georgetown team who is quite turnover-prone. Transition offense and getting points off of those forced turnovers will be another key of emphasis for the Pirates.

This is a must-win game for The Hall against a weaker opponent, as they look to get back on track as they cling to their hopes of a tournament bid.

Tipoff is at 6:00 p.m., where Will Swankie and Michael Federico will be on the call. Coverage starts at 5:30 here on WSOU 89.5 FM.

Nate Taylor can be reached at nathaniel.taylor@student.shu.edu.

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

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