3:05 pm
March 11

Big East Tournament: Seton Hall v. St. John’s

Who will WIN this matchup?

Seton Hall Pirates (13-12)

St. John’s Red Storm (16-10)

 

Current odds:

Seton Hall Pirates: (-145)

St. John’s Red Storm: (+125)

 

• The spread for the game is Seton Hall by 2.5 points.

• St. John’s and Seton Hall boast the Big East top’s two scorers in Julian Champagnie and Sandro Mamukelashvili, but both teams likely need to make some noise in the Big East tournament to see their NCAA Tournament aspirations become a reality. The teams begin their quests to improve their NCAA Tournament chances Thursday afternoon when fourth-seeded St. John’s faces fifth-seeded Seton Hall in a quarterfinal contest at Madison Square Garden.

• Champagnie led the league at 19.9 points per game to help St. John’s (16-10, 10-9) become a top-four seed in the Big East tournament for the first time since winning the 2000 championship as a third seed. The Red Storm are in the quarterfinals for the fifth straight season, and by virtue of a strong conclusion to the regular season, they earned a bye to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2015.

• In Saturday’s 81-71 win over Seton Hall, the Red Storm allowed the game’s first 18 points before outscoring the Pirates 53-33 after halftime. Champagnie scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half for his 11th 20-point game this season. The Red Storm played their last two games without standout freshman Posh Alexander (thumb), who led the Big East with 2.6 steals per game. Alexander said he is feeling better, and he will be able to play Thursday.

• Seton Hall (13-12, 10-9) is a top-five seed for the fifth straight season and is seeking its fourth trip in five years to the semifinals. The Pirates ended the regular season with four straight losses and lost seven of their last 11 games. During the four-game skid, Seton Hall averaged 64 points, shot 40.6 percent and made 27 percent of its 3-pointers while allowing opponents to shoot 47.9 percent.

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Seton Hall Pirates
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