Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Seton Hall will be aiming for its third straight victory when it travels to DePaul on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates have picked up consecutive double-digit wins over Butler and Georgetown, improving to 3-4 in Big East play. DePaul has been struggling, losing five of its last seven games, but it is coming off a 76-65 win against Villanova.
Seton Hall has struggled with consistency so far this season, going on multiple three-game losing streaks. The Pirates went 7-7 through their first 14 games before winning three of their next four games. They picked up their first Big East win in an 88-66 final against St. John’s on New Year’s Eve, but they lost to Creighton in their following game. Seton Hall has responded with back-to-back wins against Butler and Georgetown, beating the Bulldogs by 25 points and Georgetown by 15 points. The Pirates have a pair of games against ranked opponents coming up next week, so it is crucial for them to get back to .500 in conference play on Saturday afternoon.
Wheels up to Chi town ?? #HALLin ???? pic.twitter.com/yGUAHvtgOO
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) January 13, 2023
Al-Amir Dawes scored 21 of his career-high 24 points in the second half against Georgetown to help his team pull away. The Pirates have been a terrible offensive team this season, ranked No. 227 in effective field goal percentage (49.0) and No. 302 in turnover rate. They are knocking down just 31.7% of their 3-pointers and are shooting 67.6% from the charity stripe. Seton Hall’s strength on the offensive end has been its rebounding, which can be contributed partially to its tall roster. The Pirates are facing a struggling DePaul defense that is undersized. Dawes leads Seton Hall with 11.7 points per game, while Tyrese Samuel is scoring 10.8 points.