College basketball picks: Xavier-Seton Hall prediction, odds, spread for February 24

The No. 16 Xavier Musketeers will hit the road for a matchup with the Seton Hall Pirates on Friday night from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET, and you can watch it on FS1.

Let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

Xavier vs. Seton Hall odds

Spread: Xavier -1.5
Over/Under: 141
Moneyline: Xavier -120, Seton Hall +100

Xavier (20-8, 12-5 Big East) lost three of its last four games including Tuesday's 64-63 home defeat against the Villanova Wildcats. The short-handed Musketeers were led by Souley Boum, who scored a team-high 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from long range. Second-leading scorer and top rebounder Zach Freemantle missed the last six games, and Kam Craft sat out the last three contests with a knee injury with Kyky Tandy missing Tuesday's contest with a foot issue. The Musketeers rate 23rd overall in KenPom with an offense that rates 11th in adjusted efficiency, and the defense rates 84th.

Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8 Big East) also lost three of four contests including Saturday's 64-55 road defeat against the UConn Huskies. The Pirates were led by Tyrese Samuel and Al-Amir Dawes, as both put up 16 points. Starting point guard Kadary Richmond left with a back injury, and Seton Hall was already without sixth man Dre Davis, who sat out with an ankle issue. The Pirates rate 59th in KenPom, led by a defense that rates 13th in adjusted efficiency, and the offense is 172nd.

The Pick: Seton Hall +1.5

The Pirates are a borderline bubble team at this point and cannot afford a loss in this spot to hang on to any slim NCAA Tournament hopes they have. Seton Hall will play at home for the first time in 10 days, so let's go with the more desperate team to cover this number.

  
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