12:02 pm
February 2

Seton Hall @ Butler

Who will WIN this matchup?

Seton Hall Pirates (13-8)

@ Butler Bulldogs (12-10)

 

Current odds:

Seton Hall Pirates: (+190)

Butler Bulldogs: (-240)

 

• The line for this game is Butler by 5.5 points.

• Butler and Seton Hall, part of the muddled mess in the middle of the Big East standings, meet for the second time in less than a month Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in an FS1 All-Access game during which both coaches will be live-mic’d for the entire game. The Bulldogs and Pirates are among eight conference teams with three or four wins. Seton Hall came away with a 76-75 victory Jan. 9 in the last meeting after warding off a comeback by the Bulldogs in the second half. Myles Powell had a big game for Seton Hall, scoring 31 points and making 13 of 15 from the free throw line, including two foul shots with 3.0 seconds remaining with the Pirates leading by two. Since the win over Butler, Seton Hall had lost four in a row before edging Providence 65-63 on Wednesday night.

• Butler is in the midst of a three-game losing streak with losses to Big East front-runners Villanova and Marquette, and to Creighton.

• Powell ranks second in the Big East in scoring at 21.7 points per game. Seton Hall is being outrebounded by opponents (35.3-34.2 per game) this season, but the team is 8-1 when it wins the battle of the boards. The Pirates are having one of their best seasons in the past decade at the free throw line (70.9 percent), but in Big East play they’ve been handicapped by the worst turnover average (15.6 per contest) in conference games.

• Joey Brunk was a bright spot in the loss to Seton Hall last month, finishing with his first career double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, and he is shooting 66.7 percent from the field. Kamar Baldwin has played well against Seton Hall in the past, scoring a career-high 32 points in a Big East Tournament victory last March and 23 in the Jan. 9 matchup with the Pirates. Baldwin leads the team in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (5.2), and ranks second in assists (3.7).

• Seton Hall is bidding for a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth but probably needs to finish 9-9 or 10-8 in the Big East to be in contention.

• Butler has lost the last two meetings with Seton Hall at home.

• Seton Hall is 8-0 this season when Powell scores 25 or more points.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Butler Bulldogs
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