The Seton Hall Pirates find themselves sitting on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Pirates are currently projected in the group of the next four teams out of the tournament field. This puts the Pirates in a group of eight teams who must strengthen their NCAA tournament resume before entering their conference tournament. That opportunity walks into the Prudential Center Friday evening, as the Pirates will host the number sixteenth-ranked Xavier Musketeers.
The Musketeers come to Newark losers of three of their last four games. Like Seton Hall, injuries have plagued Xavier, who has been without New Jersey native and star forward Zach Freemantle. The six-foot-nine big man is averaging nearly double-double, with fifteen points and eight rebounds on the season. The loss of Freemantle for the Musketeers has been paramount and he will not be available against the Pirates Friday night.
With Freemantle out, Xavier has relied heavily on seven-foot center Jack Nunge to play extended minutes. Nunge is averaging fourteen points and eight rebounds a game. In the Musketeers one point home loss to Villanova Tuesday night, Nunge showed signs of wearing down from playing extended minutes as Villanova was able to capitalize and take advantage of a tired Nunge and the Xavier reserve big men while Nunge was on the bench. Look for the Pirates to try to establish Tyrese Samuel early and take advantage of the Musketeers lack of depth down low.
In the first meeting between these two teams in December, Xavier defeated Seton Hall 73-70. A fully healthy Xavier squad was led by Freemantle, who poured in 23 points, while The Pirates were led by Kadary Richmond, who scored a team high seventeen points.
Health will be a major factor in this game. After a bye week, the Pirates should have Dre Davis and Kadary Richmond back in the lineup. Davis, who warmed up before the Connecticut game, has missed the past six games with an ankle injury. Richmond, who has been playing through an ankle injury, exited the Connecticut game in the first half, where he injured his back going for a steal. A week of rest should do wonders for the Pirates, who will enter as the healthier team, with Freemantle being out for the Musketeers.
On the defensive end, the Pirates must shut down Xavier guard Souley Boum. Boum is averaging over sixteen points a game and shooting over forty percent from three-point range. Look for Femi Odukake and Al-Amir Dawes to play very tight off-the-ball defense on Boum, making it difficult for him to catch the ball in a position to shoot.
On the offensive end, the Pirates will rely heavily on Richmond, Dawes and Samuel. A healthy Richmond is a nightmare for teams to defend, as he utilizes his size to get into the lane forcing contact or finishing around the rim. He can also get open looks for teammates as defenders collapse to take his driving ability away. When this happens, the Pirates will need Dawes to continue to knock down three-point field goals. Dawes is shooting over forty percent from three and leading the Pirates with nearly thirteen points a game. Tyrese Samuel was a force on the road against Xavier early in the year, scoring fourteen points. With Freemantle out, the Pirates must attack Nunge down low and exploit the lack of depth at the forward position for Xavier.
The Pirates must protect their home court with all of Seton Hall's remaining games being NCAA Tournament play-in games. Seton Hall Athletics announced a lower-level sell-out at the Prudential Center Friday night. An energetic crowd should rock "The Rock" and give the Pirates a legitimate home-court advantage. Will the Pirates add to their tournament resume and take a step closer to the right side of the bubble? We will find out in front of a sold-out Prudential Center crowd Friday night.
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