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Preview: Red-Hot Pirates Face No. 23 Bluejays in Pivotal BIG EAST Matchup

Date: February 8, 2023

By: Justin Nicosia

The Pirates' starting five get ready for the game against DePaul.

Wilnir Louis/WillyWill Media

On Jan. 4, Shaheen Holloway woke up as the coach of a Seton Hall team that began BIG EAST play by losing four of their first five conference games, falling to 8-8 on the season in the process. Many in the industry doubted if the Pirates would even make the 2023 iteration of the NIT.

Flashforward a month, and the Pirates (15-9, 8-5 CONF) not only sit fifth in the conference standings but are among the first four teams out in the projected bracket, according to ESPN, CBS, and Fox.

On Wednesday, they welcome the No. 23 Creighton Bluejays (15-8, 9-3 CONF) to the Prudential Center. Creighton currently projects as a seven or eight-seed by most projections.

If the Pirates win and avoid a bad loss against Georgetown a week from now, they should be able to see themselves into the coveted field of 68.

Beating Creighton is no easy task, however. When Holloway woke up on Jan. 4, his team had just come off of an 83-61 loss in Omaha. That 22-point margin of defeat was (and still is) the team’s second-largest defeat of the season, only behind their 91-65 loss at the hands of the reigning national champion Kansas Jayhawks.

In that game, Seton Hall’s defense, which is usually regarded as one of the nation’s elite, allowed the Bluejays to shoot 50.9 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from behind the arc. It was also the second-most points the team has given up in a single game all season.

But things are different now. In the eight games since, Seton Hall has not allowed more than 74 points. In that span, they are 7-1 and holding opponents to 69.5 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting and 35.3 percent from three.

A big part of the team’s defensive success in that span should be credited to Tyrese Samuel, who has recorded six blocks in his last six games, and whose defensive presence on Adama Sanogo helped immensely in Seton Hall’s victory over UConn.

He’ll have possibly his toughest matchup yet against the reigning BIG EAST defensive player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is also averaging 15.2 points per game on an astounding 73.3 percent from the field.

Seton Hall’s defense will also need to key on South Dakota State-transfer Baylor Scheierman, who scores 13 points per game as an elite three-point shooter, and also leads Creighton with 8.3 rebounds per game.

They’ll likely rely on junior point guard Kadary Richmond to do so. Richmond is the Pirates’ best perimeter defender. A member of the preseason BIG EAST second team, Richmond has come into form in recent weeks, averaging 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in conference play.

His backcourt-mate, Al-Amir Dawes, has also come into his own, shooting 37.8 percent from three during conference play while scoring 12.6 points per game in that stretch. If Dre Davis misses his third consecutive game with an ankle sprain, Dawes’ role as Seton Hall’s top scorer will become even more important.

Last time the Pirates faced a ranked team at home, they completed a 15-point comeback in what was one of the BIG EAST’s best games of the year. Can they match the excitement from that game and knock off one of the conference’s best?

Find out on Wednesday at 7 p.m., when Jonathan Heite and Joe Matthews will call all the action for 89.5 FM WSOU. Our coverage will begin at 6:30 with Ryan Johnston and Nate Taylor in the studio.

Justin Nicosia can be reached at justin.nicosia@student.shu.edu.

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

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