Seton Hall Hosts Villanova in a Big-Time Bubble Matchup

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

by Joe Morales

The Seton Hall Pirates (18-11, 11-7 CONF) look to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive in a Wednesday showdown with the Villanova Wildcats (17-12, 10-8 CONF). The 19th conference game of the season is the most important Pirates game of the year, as the result of this game likely determined whether Seton Hall will be dancing later this month.

The Prudential Center is expected to be sold out for the midweek matchup as it always is when the Wildcats are in town. The Pirate faithful look to turn the tides on what has been a one-sided series of late. The Wildcats have a 15-2 advantage in their last 17 meetings with the Pirates. Villanova has had The Hall’s number in recent years.

Seton Hall’s path to the tournament is simple; beat Villanova and beat DePaul. That puts the Pirates at 20 wins, which is typically the “magic number” to earn an at-large bid.

The Pirates’ past two games have not helped their case. They endured two blowout losses on the road against two top-15 programs in Creighton and Connecticut. Expecting Seton Hall to win both games against these two national title contenders is foolish, but the Pirates did not put up a fight that resembled a tournament team.

Kadary Richmond and Dylan Addae-Wusu combined to go 1-13 in the first half against UConn which put the game out of reach after the first 20 minutes. For the Pirates to beat the Wildcats, the Hall needs three of their starters to score up near 20 points.

The Pirates need to break through the Wildcats’ hard-nosed defense and not get themselves in long-scoring droughts. UConn and Creighton held Seton Hall to multiple four-plus minute scoring droughts, which put the Hall out of the game.

Villanova's main scoring threat is Senior forward Eric Dixon, who averages 16.4 points per game. Seton Hall needs to hold Dixon to under 15 points if they have any chance to win. Dixon is coming off an 11-point performance against Providence last week.

In terms of seeding, Seton Hall can clinch a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament with a win or a Providence loss to UConn on Saturday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 in Newark, with the pregame show on 89.5 FM with Ryan Henry and Ryan Johnston starting at 6:00, then Spencer Gonzales and Justin Oosterwyk have the call of Seton Hall and Villanova.

Joe Morales is an Assistant Sports Director and Sports Web Editor at WSOU and can be reached at joseph.morales@student.shu.edu.

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