Seton Hall Aims to Build Off Recent Win in Saturday Afternoon Battle Versus Marquette

Published: Friday, January 30, 2026

by Ryan Nelke

NEWARK, N.J. - The Seton Hall Pirates (15-6, 5-5) welcome in the Marquette Golden Eagles (8-14, 3-8) to the Prudential Center on Saturday afternoon, looking to kick off a new winning streak.  Both teams are coming off blowout wins, with Seton Hall defeating Xavier by 18 on Wednesday, while Marquette cruised past Creighton by 24.

These respective squads took different routes to the blowout performances, as it was all Marquette from the beginning against Creighton, as they took a 52-23 lead into the break, and the Golden Eagles held that distance the rest of the night.

For Seton Hall, it seemed like they were heading for their fifth consecutive loss, as they trailed 41-30 at the break, with their offense looking all out of sorts once again.  However, the Pirates put together their best half of the season in the second, riding an explosive 56-point, 20 minute performance to an 86-68 win over Xavier.

There were several impressive showings in that game from the Pirates, starting with TJ Simpkins.  Simpkins posted a career-high 27 points, while draining five threes and shooting over 50% from the field.  Budd Clark produced a season-high 24 points and chipped in four steals, while Jacob Dar also posted a new high mark in points on the season, with 10.

This contest was a must-win for this Pirates squad if they wanted to keep their tournament hopes alive, as after reentering the AP Poll for the first time in four years nearly two weeks ago, Seton Hall proceeded to lose four straight to UConn, Butler, St. John’s, and DePaul.  Therefore, with the Pirates being on the bubble now, this Xavier win was vital for their tournament hopes.

Seton Hall last played Marquette right before the calendar flipped over to 2026, and it required late game heroics to come away with a win.  The Golden Eagles were in control for the majority of the second half, and led by as much as 10 with just under 10 minutes to play.  However, over the last three minutes of the game, Seton Hall went on a 13-0 run to close out the game, winning 79-73.

This time around, the Pirates will surely not want this contest to require a late game run.  For that to happen, they will look to the same suspects that brought home a win against Xavier.  Clark and Simpkins both just had their best games of the season, and while the Pirates likely will not need herculean efforts from the two of them, they will need them to provide consistency from the field.

Another player to watch out for is Stephon Payne, as last time out against Marquette, he posted a double-double with 14 points and a whopping 22 rebounds.  That said, if the Pirates can get Payne going in the paint and respectable shooting from the field, in tandem with their elite defense, this can be an extremely dangerous team to watch out for.

Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. with Jack Pine and Jacob Glick on the call, with pregame coverage scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on 89.5 FM WSOU.

Ryan Nelke is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at nelkerya@shu.edu.

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