NCAA basketball on Friday and it is the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. In this matchup we will see the Seton Hall Pirates take on the Providence Friars at Madison Square Garden in New York. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on Fox Sports 1. Vegas odds have the Friars listed as 2 point favorites, while the total sits at 136.
Stat Pack: Seton Hall comes in with a bit of momentum after beating butler and then grabbing a huge upset of Villanova yesterday. The Pirates now come in at 17-16 overall and 8-12 within the Bg East. The Pirates average a modest 71.8 ppg on 45.5% shooting for the year. They are solid from long range (36.1%) and from the free throw line (72%). The Pirates are led by Fuquan Edwin, who averages 14.3 ppg on the year. Sterling Gibbs (13.2 ppg), Gene Teague (11.2 ppg) and Brian Oliver (10.5 ppg) also average in double figures for the Pirates. Teague leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg), while Gibbs Leads them in assists. The Pirates are an average defensive team, allowing 69.5 ppg on 44.5% shooting and they are not a good rebounding team, ranking 290th, pulling down just 32.6 boards per game.
The Providence Friars got here by beating St John’s yesterday, after have a bye in the first round. The Friars are now 21-11 on the year overall and 11-8 in conference play. Providence averages a solid 73.2 ppg on 42.5% shooting, which is 269th in the nation. They do hit their free throws, ranking 2nd in the nation at 78.1%. The offense is led by Bryce Cotton, who averages 21.4 ppg, while also dishing out 186 assists on the year. LaDontaeHenton (13.7 ppg), Kadeem Batts (11.7 ppg) and Tyler Harris (11.4 ppg) also average in double figures for the Friars. Defensively, the Friars are average as they come in allowing 69.8 ppg, which is 168th in the nation, while teams shoot 44.3% vs them, which is 210th in the nation. This is a decent rebounding team, ranking 80th at 36.9 rpg.
Pick: Going with the Friars in this one. The Pirates are coming off a huge last second upset win over Villanova and just may not have a whole lot left in the tank for this one. Providence has surprised many with the year they had and they have won 5 of their last 7 games, while the pirates are just 4-6 in their last 10 games. Ill go with the more consistent team here.
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