According to various sources, including CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman, as well as JP Pelzman, who broke the news, former Iona wing Kyle Smyth will transfer to Seton Hall and use his one year of eligibility remaining playing for the Pirates.

Smyth, like Eniel Polynice was two seasons ago, is a post-graduate transfer, meaning that he can play immediately. According to Jerry Carino,the Don Bosco Prep alum will walk on to the team.

WHAT THIS MEANS: Smyth is a pure shooter. He was recruited by, and played under, Coach Willard at Iona in his system. He won't use up the Hall's one remaining scholarship for next season. It's a win-win all around, and as we have seen, you can never have enough shooting when you play for Coach Willard.

The Pirates are now loaded on the wings even more, with Smyth joining fellow shooters Brian Oliver, Aaron Cosby and Haralds Karlis as well as Fuquan Edwin. If Sterling Gibbs is deemed eligible for this season, watch out. Point guard is the only hole in the roster entering next season, as everyone knows, and if Gibbs can play, he'll have a multitude of options through which to run the offense.

It's low-risk and potentially very high reward, as Smyth shot over 42% in Willard's final season at Iona from the 3-point land.

According to CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman, Pirates guard Sean Grennan will transfer out.

Grennan's name can be found on his extensive list of transfers, which can be found here.

Grennan saw action in 18 games this season, averaging just under 4 minutes per game with 0.6 PTS and 0.5 AST. By far his best game of the season came at Longwood, where he scored 5 PTS on 2-2 shooting with one made three. In fact, the guard from Sea Girt, coming in with a reputation as a shooter, did not miss a single shot this season in 4 attempts, 2 from three-point distance.

We wish Sean all the best in his future endeavors on and off the court.

WHAT THIS MEANS: Pirate fans concerned about scholarship limits now have their answer to their worries about exceeding the Men's Basketball limit of 13. With this transfer, Seton Hall now has one more scholly to give out with Sterling Gibbs transferring in. They could opt to use it this year, or they could wait until next year, when Aquille Carr is expected to come in. Of course, as always, keep an eye on SOJ for all your offseason news/notes.

Either way, this is a mutually beneficial transfer. Grennan is a good kid who worked hard in practice this past season, but was too far down on the depth chart to see any regular burn, and he barely saw any action in Big East play. Hopefully he finds a school where he can receive some more steady playing time.

Best of luck, Sean!

Editor's Note: At the time of JP's post, I'm told Grennan will likely look to land in the Colonial Athletic Association or the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Thanks to the Pirates' victory on Tuesday night, they advanced to face the winner of UMass-Mississippi State.

And thanks to a double-OT thriller in Starkville, it was the Minutemen that advanced to face the Pirates.

Once again, the game will take place at historic Walsh Gymnasium, but this time, it'll be a whole different environment.

Here's what you need to know about UMass:

Massachusetts

2011-12 record: 23-11 (9-7 A-10)

All-time series record: 2-2

Last meeting: 12/11/10 (104-79 SHU W)

Remember how Stony Brook liked to lock down on defense and slow the game down? Throw that out the window for this game.

UMass is as different a team from Stony Brook as you'll ever find, a team that ratchets up the tempo to create extra possessions and make you stop their potent offense. They led the A-10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and threes made and ranked highly in several other categories as well, while ranking low in scoring defense and dead last in rebounding defense. They were the surprise team in the A-10 this year, finishing 5th after being picked 12th out of 14 teams in the preseason.

And their best player will remind Pirate fans of Aquille Carr.

No, really. Chaz Williams, selected to the First Team All-Atlantic 10 this season, is listed at 5'9" but probably isn't, is a blur with the ball in his hands, strong and athletic, plus an excellent shooter from three-point range. He's one of only 3 players in the country this season to average 16+ PTS, 6+ AST and 4+ rebounds, with Tim Frazier of Penn State and Nate Wolters of South Dakota State. He transferred from Hofstra after one season, and he is the (little) engine (that could) that drives the UMass offense. Trying to contain him will be a huge part of Seton Hall's gameplan.

In addition to Williams, UMass brings former Seton Hall-signee Jesse Morgan, an athletic two-guard who's shot 38% from deep so far this year. It's a dynamic backcourt duo for the Minutemen, backed up by veterans Javorn Farrell and Freddie Riley, both of whom fit Derek Kellogg's up-tempo system, with Farrell being a better shooter.

In the frontcout, the Minutemen don't have a ton of depth, but they are talented. Redshirt-senior Sean Carter is a strong player around the hoop (57% FG%) and is UMass' leading rebounder. Redshirt-sophomore Raphiael Putney is as thin as tissue paper, but has a nice face-up game and a high-arcing jump shot that extends out to the three-point line (37% this season). He's second on the team in scoring and rebounding and his length creates problems for opponents on defense. Terrell Vinson does a little bit of everything, although at 6'7" he's more of a wing than a post player. Maxie Esho brings length off the bench as well.

Outside of the top 8 players, the Minutemen don't have much else, with injuries sidelining several players this season. But as Pirate fans remember from the days of yore, you can run with a lack of depth. And that's what UMass does. Everyone except Carter and Esho is capable of making a three, and they feed off of Williams' great speed and shooting ability. This is one dangerous team and while Seton Hall tried their darndest to speed up Stony Brook, getting into a track meet with this team is not recommended, even though the Pirates can run a little themselves.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They slow down Chaz Williams. This is not easy to do whatsoever. He's a 42% three-point shooter and can get into the lane practically at-will. Seton Hall will need to be sharp in their rotations and help defense while showing Williams multiple defensive looks. In order to do the latter, they'll need to keep the Minutemen out of transition, and if they can do that, they'll have a great shot.

- They rebound. It didn't really hurt the Pirates in their last game, but this time it will. There will be tons of rebounds up for grabs, and Seton Hall MUST crash the boards well in order to win this game. At the very least, they need to be within 7 rebounds of UMass if they do end up getting out-rebounded.

- They wake up. This game worries me for one reason- the insane 11 AM start time. UMass plays a style that gets the juices flowing quickly whenever the start time is. Seton Hall has only had two early starts this season- Mercer and Pittsburgh, and both times the Pirates struggled, needing OT to beat Mercer and losing an early lead to Pitt before coming back late. The fans likely will not be completely the same as on Tuesday night either. Seton Hall cannot sleepwalk out of the gate in this game. If they do, they might fall behind too far to come back.

UMass will win if:

- They play at their pace. Transition offense/defense is the key to this game, as in, who does it better. UMass isn't like DePaul in that they can play in the halfcourt as well as in the open floor, but they're better when they run. Again, Seton Hall can speed things up from time to time, particularly off turnovers, but they cannot get into UMass' pace and expect to be as successful as the Minutemen.

- Chaz Williams baits Jordan Theodore into a 1-on-1 game. First, let me applaud Jordan for keeping this under control most of the time this season. It was one of his biggest flaws last season. But Theodore really needs to be mentally on track Saturday. Williams is the type of player that can cause opponents to try and go right back at him, and Theodore cannot do this in this game. It will doom the Pirates if he tries to 1-up Williams.

I'll be providing color commentary on the broadcast on WSOU, so tune on in. Hopefully, the player who looks so much like the Point Guard of the Future won't ruin the present for the Pirates.

That was intense.

It was a defensive struggle, it was loud, it was very hustle-filled, and despite being out-rebounded by 19, including by 17 on the offensive boards, the Pirates emerged victorious over Stony Brook in their first ever postseason win at Walsh Gymnasium, and first win in the NIT since 1956.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from a special night in South Orange:

- South Orange, Rock City

I had seen a couple men's basketball games at Walsh before, but all were exhibition games that were blowouts where the crowd expected a victory. This time, Stony Brook came in as a legit opponent, and this game counted for something. Once everyone had found their seats, the atmosphere was inSANE. Shortly after the buzzer sounded to begin the pregame ceremonies, the crowd was LOUD. Louder than I had ever heard the building get before. Someone started a "Let's Go Pirates" chant, and everyone joined in at the same time, with the same rhythm. It sent shivers up my spine, and all I could do sitting high above the scene in the press box was smile.

When the Pirates jumped out to an early 12-2 lead, sure it helped that they fed off the crowd and stuck their hands into every passing lane, but Stony Brook was clearly rattled by the intensity of the hornet's nest they had walked into. They committed 9 turnovers in the first 8 minutes of the game, and none of those were fluky. A+ to the fans that were able to snag tickets to the event. Next up is Massachusetts, and it'll be at Walsh again. Oh boy....

- Defensive Struggle

That's exactly what we thought this game would be, and after that early spurt from both teams (12-0 for the Pirates, countered by 14-6 from the Seawolves), neither team could open up much of a margin on the other. Stony Brook reminded Coach Dan McHale of Notre Dame (so he told me pregame), and he was right. "They lock you down," coach said referring to Stony Brook. I came away impressed by their sound positioning and effort, and especially with the America East DPOY Tommy Brenton (who jusssssssst missed a tip-in at the buzzer that would have tied it at the end).

On the Pirates' end, the defense was extraordinary early, had a little lull thereafter, and aside from the start of the second half was very good the rest of the game. The only real thing I could see that they didn't do was play off of Brenton when he had the ball (since he can't score at all), but other than that the defense was pretty good.

Now, rebounding is part of defense, but since most of the Pirates' deficit can be traced back to the offensive boards, let's focus on those. Sure there were times when there were failed box-outs, and that falls on the Pirates squarely, but Coach Willard was asked after the game about it, and he astutely pointed out that there were many instances where there were long rebounds that happened to bounce the Seawolves' way. So while the final numbers look ugly, and the 19 second chance points that Stony Brook got doesn't look to good, it wasn't as bad as the numbers indicate.

- Senior Desire

Let's hand it to Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope. They played like they did not want their Seton Hall careers to end last night, and the Pirate offense flowed through them all game long. Pope in particular was great- with no shot-blockers in the paint to worry about, he went about his business (shockingly, without seeing many double-teams at all; perhaps it's just Stony Brook's mentality on D) and dropped a stat-stuffer line of 20 PTS, 9 REB, 3 BLK and 4 STL on 7-10 (!) shooting. He had 4 TOs in the first half, but none in the second half.

Theodore was equally huge. His line of 21 PTS, 6 AST and 3 STL doesn't adequately reflect how many plays he made tonight. As both teams traded buckets for most of the second half, it was Theodore who gave the Pirates the separation they needed to hang on with three huge plays. First, he nailed an unbelievably tough turnaround fadeaway with the shot clock winding down from the top of the key. Then, he picked Brenton's pocket near halfcourt and took it in for a layup. Both these plays happened early in the half to get the crowd back in it after Stony Brook had taken the lead.

To top it off, he drew a charge on Stony Brook point guard Dave Coley, which (after he reacted to it and got T'd up by Ed Corbett) gave Coley both his 4th and 5th fouls. Theodore then sank both technical free throws to push what was a 5-point lead thanks to Patrik Auda's nifty drive and score and Brandon Mobley's three to 7 points.

- Thievery

Of Stony Brook's 18 turnovers, 15 of them were Seton Hall steals. And 13 of those were from Pope, Theodore and Fuquan Edwin (who had 5 steals in the first 8 minutes and finished with 6). Included in these steal totals was also one of the plays of the night in my opinion. Stony Brook had the ball and tried to reverse it. But Haralds Karlis stepped in front and intercepted the pass with remarkable Edwin-like anticipation. He then took it in transition and passed up to Edwin for a layup that started the run in the middle of the 2nd half that gave the Pirates control of the game.

- Survive and Advance

That's what the Pirates were able to do in the end, and in the postseason, that's what counts. Meanwhile, Seton Hall's next opponent will be UMass, and the game will once again be at Walsh Gym. UMass is not the same team that Stony Brook was, so it will be a much different experience. A full preview will be up on the Juice the day before, as usual.

The Pirates took on a very good defensive team, and in the end, they made just enough plays to get the job done. I would expect the same level of intensity later this week against the Minutemen.

Fight, Fight, Fight, for the Blue and White!

Well, it wasn't exactly the goal of this year's squad to make it to the NIT, but the Pirates find themselves as a 1-seed this year, barely missing out on the Big Dance. Whether you feel they were snubbed or not, there's still more hoops to be played.

And this time, it'll be on the Pirates' true home floor at Walsh Gymnasium, as Seton Hall draws the America East regular season champs, the Stony Brook Seawolves, in the first round of the 75th annual Postseason NIT.

Here's what you need to know about the Pirates' Long Island-based opponent:

Stony Brook

2011-12 record: 22-9 (14-2 America East)

All-time series record: 2-0

Last meeting: 12/31/02 (71-48 SHU W)

The Seawolves have come a long way under head coach Steve Pikiell. When he took the job 7 years ago, Stony Brook was on academic probation, and a perennial bottom feeder in the America East. The Seawolves have only been in Division-1 since 1999, and in their first 7 years at this level, went 55-140 overall, and 32-84 in the America East (a conference they joined after two seasons as an Independent).

But the last few years under Pikiell have seen the Seawolves become a contender in the America East, as Stony Brook has won 20 games in two of the last 3 seasons (two years ago and this season, earning NIT berths both times) while making at least the semifinals of the America East tournament in each of the last 3 years.

Last season, the Seawolves made the America East final despite finishing 6th in the regular season, but lost to Boston University on a foul called with 2 seconds left on BU star John Holland, who made both FTs to ice it. This season, Stony Brook actually hosted the championship against Vermont, but they could not overcome a rough first half, and word is that they are not taking that loss well, as the Seawolves have never been to the Big Dance.

But Stony Brook is a tough team with some local NJ talent, the most prominent of which is their leading scorer, First Team All-America East guard and Scotch Plains-Fanwood alum Bryan Dougher (pronouncer DEW-er). Dougher is Stony Brook's Jeremy Hazell- he's taken 234 threes this season (!), a mark that's nearly double than that of the next closest teammate, and has made a very good 36% of those shots. He has range from the parking deck, and the Pirates will have to be very aware of this. Vermont did a very good job on him in the A-East Championship, and he's a guy that can bust zones wide open. A dangerous player to contend with because of his ability to hit from anywhere inside halfcourt on a dime.

Joining Dougher is America East Defensive POY Tommy Brenton. Brenton is a very intriguing player- he is also First Team All-America East, and despite standing only 6'5", is the Seawolves' leader in rebounding, assists, and steals. He's the ultimate glue guy, and doesn't look to score, but to make plays on offense, and hustle on defense to get rebounds, steals, and the like. What he does on the court is very, very important to what Stony Brook does on the court, and that makes him just as valuable as Dougher, if not more valuable.

The Seawolves also bring some size down low with Dallis Joyner, a more traditional post player at 6'7", 275 pounds who shoots it at 60% around the hoop, and Al Rapier, who can also finish around the basket in sometimes-creative fashion. Danny Carter, Eric McAllister and JUCO transfer Ron Bracey provide some depth down low as well.

In the backcourt with Dougher, Dave Coley is the second leading scorer for Stony Brook. Coley is the playmaker from the guard position off the bounce who is versatile on the court- not tremendous yet in any one area, but able to score, shoot, dish and defend. Also in the backcourt, the Seawolves bring Anthony Jackson, Marcus Rouse and Leonard Hayes, each of which can shoot the ball from deep if left open, although they don't shoot it often.

What has made Stony Brook so good this season is their defense, however. They have not allowed a single opponent to score 70 points on them in the last 22 games (they're 19-3 in that stretch), and are allowing just 42% shooting from their opponents overall this season, and 59 points per game. They play both zone and man, and try to make everything in the paint difficult. This game could turn into a defensive struggle, and Stony Brook would like to keep it low-scoring against a more-talented and athletic Seton Hall team.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They make their threes. One area of weakness for the Seawolves is their defense beyond the arc; they allowed opponents to make 34.9% from three. Only DePaul had a worse mark in the Big East than that this season. Seton Hall, meanwhile, was the best 3-point shooting team in the Big East this season, at 36% from deep. If the Pirates can knock down threes on the same court they've practiced on much of the year, they'll be in excellent shape. Speaking of home court....

- Walsh is Rocking. Seton Hall has won 20 straight games on campus, but hasn't played a meaningful home game at the historic Walsh Gym since December 4th, 2000 (in that game, the late Eddie Griffin, then a freshman, recorded the only triple-double in school history against Norfolk State as Seton Hall won by 10). Because this is a rarity for Pirate fans, if the place is packed (which I think it will be), and is loud like Walsh has been known to be when you get that many fans into the place, it will buoy the Pirates to victory. Pack Walsh. Make it loud. Support your team.

- Pope and Theodore take over. Stony Brook doesn't have much shot blocking at all on their roster. That should make Pope's eyes widen- he's struggled this year going up against the shot-blockers of the Big East. Theodore, meanwhile, will probably be one of if not the most talented player on the floor Tuesday night. He's led the Pirates this far, and now it's time for him to continue that trend in the postseason. If Theodore can get into the paint and make plays, Seton Hall will win.

Stony Brook could win if:

- Dougher goes off. Bryan Dougher is a local kid, from Scotch Plains, and he has Jeremy Hazell-like range. He's the player who could keep the Seawolves in the game if things get out of hand for them on the defensive side of the ball with his shot-making ability. Although the Seawolves would much prefer if...

- The game stays in the 60s. Or even lower. Stony Brook has prided themselves on defense all season long, and they can't get into a score-fest with the Pirates, who are extremely good on defense themselves.

I will be in the building for WSOU Tuesday night, and I'll be on the broadcast at halftime for some analysis, plus hosting Hall Line after the game ends.

The best way I know to show that you've been snubbed from the Big Dance is to just go out and win. Both teams are reeling from disappointment in the last week or so, but the Pirates have the home court, and the edge in talent. Time for the seniors to lead the team and get it done.

Hazard Zet Forward to all!

Kevin Willard can't seem to figure out Rick Pitino.

Pitino, however, seems to have figured out Jordan Theodore.

It was a rough loss last night at Madison Square Garden, and Seton Hall now finds themselves squarely on the bubble.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from last night:

- Shut Down

The key to Seton Hall's offense is Jordan Theodore. When he makes plays, the Pirates tend to do well. The Cardinals did a great job last time of neutralizing him, and they did it again last night. There were no driving lanes for Theodore to take, and when there were, Gorgui Dieng (6 BLK) was there to make sure he and other Pirates didn't score either. Since the threes weren't dropping either, and the Pirates had their issues with turnovers (17), that translated into a loss.

- Resolve

Seton Hall tried to come back late, getting up off the mat after being down by 15 at one point in the second half, but they would get no closer than 5 points. Theodore and Herb Pope engineered the comeback with some inspired hustle plays and clutch baskets, including an NBA-range three from Theodore over Peyton Siva. That last-ditch effort to save the season was nice to see because in years past, Seton Hall might have quit with the plays that Louisville was making, and just played out the string. It was helped along by the fact that Louisville isn't a great finishing team, with Peyton Siva and Russ Smith making potentially critical errors down the stretch, most of them forced by the Pirates.

- Sweating Out Sunday

With the loss, because it wasn't a bad loss (neutral floor, team that will be dancing), Seton Hall now finds themselves on the very edge of the potential field of 68. The Committee will decide their fate, and when you look at the Pirates' overall body of work, it's better than a lot of the bubble teams they're competing with. Some scoreboard-watching is in order, of course, but Seton Hall played the 15th-best out of conference schedule (when OOC play ended, though their OOC SOS at end of the year was 126) in terms of RPI and went 11-1 in that schedule. The Pirates also have 4 Top-50 wins this season, more than a good number of bubble teams do.

Theirs is a resume that will either barely get them in, or barely squeeze them out. I wouldn't complain either way, because the body of work is worthy, but the finish to the season certainly isn't. We'll just have to wait and see.

This is it, Pirate fans. Seton Hall is hanging on by the skin of their teeth in terms of the Big Dance. It all comes down to Madison Square Garden and the Big East Tournament. Seton Hall needs to get two in New York City, and as fate would have it, the Pirates are the 10-seed, and will play the 15th-seeded Providence Friars.

Why is it fate? The last time the Pirates were the 10-seed, they faced Providence in the first round. It was 3 days shy of two years ago, and there was so little defense, it was unbelievable. It was a wild game, won by the Pirates 109-106 in regulation, the highest scoring regulation game in Big East Tournament history. The casts for both teams were drastically different back then, but in that game, Seton Hall nearly blew a 29-point lead in the second half before barely hanging on despite giving up almost 70 points after halftime. I distinctly remember being horrified at what I was seeing from the student section, and despite the win, I felt embarrassed to be there as the entire Garden turned on the Pirates as they were rescinding their lead.

The point is that Seton Hall needs to conquer some demons in order to advance and solidify some confidence in their hopes to Dance, from that fateful game that spelled the beginning of the end for Bobby Gonzalez in 2010, and from the two vomit-inducing losses to Rutgers and DePaul.

Both Providence and Seton Hall are different teams from when we last saw them, in Providence on January 7th. Seton Hall was on their way to a Top-25 ranking following their first win over UConn in 11 years, while Providence was winless in the Big East and still trying to feel their way around. The game itself was a good one- Vincent Council was the axis of the offense then, and didn't have much around him. Accordingly, Council had a great game, dropping 23 PTS, 6 REB, and 9 AST on the Pirates and doing all he could to keep PC in the game. And he almost did, thanks to a really bad shooting night from the Pirates (20 offensive rebounds, but a sub-35% FG%), but it was Jordan Theodore and Fuquan Edwin who saved the day with big buckets late for Seton Hall. Edwin had what was then a career-high 24 PTS on 9-18 shooting with 5 3PM, 9 REB and 5 STL, and Theodore had 14 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST, and 6 STL.

Now, the Pirates are struggling and hobbling into MSG, while the Friars have become more of a complete team. Aaron Cosby has been dealing with the flu, Herb Pope tweaked his foot in the DePaul game, and Aaron Geramipoor has a sports hernia that has kept him out for a while. Providence's improvement never quite showed in the standings, but LaDontae Henton came into his own as a dangerous two-way player alongside Council, and Bryce Cotton became a dangerous threat from beyond the arc. Plus, Bilal Dixon always seems to play well against the Pirates- he had 8 PTS, 4 REB and 6 BLK in the game at the Dunk on the 7th, as Seton Hall had trouble dealing with his bulk.

We've been told that Pope is expected to play, but how he's feeling is anyone's guess. Cosby may have played with the flu in Chicago as well. Regardless, I expect nothing less than a full effort level from all Pirates involved.

It all comes down to The Garden, in March, at the Big East Championship. I'll be on the call for WSOU for each game in some capacity (color commentary tonight) as long as the Pirates survive, and we can only hope for the best.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They can mentally right their ship. Losing like they have the last two games is really tough on the confidence and on the psyche, especially for the seniors. They have to show that they're in the right place mentally before they can get back on track, and this will be immediately apparent in the first half tonight. Pay attention to the first 10 minutes in this regard.

- Mobley and Auda step up. Geramipoor will not play, and we don't know how effective Herb Pope will be. Brandon Mobley and Patrik Auda need to step up and play well, especially on the boards. You can throw Fuquan Edwin in there for rebounding purposes as well. Control the boards and it means your defense is working, and Seton Hall needs that to happen.

Providence will win if:

- Seton Hall continues to be tight. Providence, like Rutgers and DePaul before them, has nothing to lose. They will be loose. Seton Hall has played tight the last two games, and it needs to stop because at night, at the Big East Tournament, the spotlight is on. If they continue to be tight, Providence has the talent to take advantage.

- Council gets help. Last time, Vincent Council was a one-man show, and because of the Pirates' shooting woes, it almost worked. Providence would like to be more spread out in its scoring. Council's been great at doing just that this year, leading the Big East in AST.

Greetings, fellow Juiceians!

It's been a long and eventful regular season for Seton Hall- ups, downs, u-turns, figure-8s, and more. And it comes down to a road game against the DePaul Blue Demons that could decide Seton Hall's postseason fate. A win, and the Pirates clinch the 8th seed in the Big East Tournament and a first round bye (the first time they've had one since 1993, when the tournament was only 9 teams and the Pirates- the 1 seed- won it all).

A loss, and things get a whole lot more complicated.

DePaul

2011-12 record: 11-18 (2-15 Big East)

All-time series: 8-2

Last meeting: 1/10/12 (94-73 SHU W)

The book on DePaul is that they aren't very good defensively, and the numbers back that up. In fact, by all accounts and purposes, they are the worst defensive team in the Big East. The Blue Demons are last in scoring defense (77.2 PTS allowed per game), FG% defense (.481) and both rebounding categories.

But as opposed to past seasons, DePaul isn't as bad as their 2-15 Big East record states. Because of the hectic pace they play at, the Blue Demons are 3rd in the conference in scoring, assists and three-pointers made, plus they are tied for 6th in steals and 5th (just behind the Pirates) in turnover margin. The sophomore duo of Brandon Young and Cleveland Melvin is the highest-scoring such duo in the nation, ahead of Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas. With a young core surrounding them (with the exception of Jeremiah Kelly and Krys Faber, whose senior night the Pirates aim to ruin), DePaul has a bright future.

But it isn't helping things in the present. Over the last two games, the Pirates have ripped the Blue Demons for 94 points in the paint, including a whopping 50 the last time these two teams met in Rosemont. That was last season, and as many Pirate fans remember, that was the game that Jeremy Hazell returned from his injury. It was also a night where the Pirates only took NINE total threes, attacking the paint with relentless fire and great success. They shot 69% in the second half and ended up winning by only 11 thanks to 13 TOs.

DePaul this season has shown that it can compete with anyone on its home floor- they took Louisville, a team that's very similar to Seton Hall for obvious reasons, to overtime before finally falling, and they'll be sure to come out hyped to try and do what Rutgers did last weekend- put a serious dent in the Pirates' NCAA hopes.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They Embrace the Pace. Last time these two teams met this worked well. Seton Hall was able to score 27 fast break points in that contest, and Fuquan Edwin had a field day, going off for a career-high 28 PTS while Jordan Theodore tied what was then his career-high with 26 PTS and 11 AST (the assists are still a career-high). If the Pirates get out and run against DePaul off of turnovers like last time, the Blue Demons will have a devil of a time (no pun intended) trying to stop them.

- They control the boards. One of the things that DePaul did well in that last meeting was offensive rebounding, grabbing 16 O-boards in the contest. The Pirates were able to tie them in total rebounds (38 apiece), but be assured that there will be tons of shots put up tonight. Whoever corrals the misses better will have a great shot.

DePaul could win if:

- They ramp the pace into overdrive. While Seton Hall used to try and do the same thing, the Pirates are not the same team as they were when they did. DePaul has better athletes overall, and if they use that to their advantage, they could sneak up on anyone.

- They get hot from three. DePaul isn't a great three-point shooting team, but they have shown the ability to heat up from beyond the arc from time to time. Seton Hall is great at defending the three, so if DePaul can get enough of the shots to drop, it could make things interesting.

One final note- I will be calling the game on WSOU, so tune in to 89.5 FM in the New York Metro area, or log on to wsou.net and click "Listen Live" to support your fellow SOJ-ers!

Boy, did that sting. Badly.

Losing to Rutgers is never an acceptable thing in Pirate Land, but losing on Senior Night in front of a packed house in agonizing fashion when you're trying to make the postseason is devastating. Oh, and that's not to mention the atrocious foul call on Herb Pope in the final minute of OT that led to the game-winning shot. But I digress.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from a near-impossible pill to swallow:

- Down the Stretch

With the game tied in overtime thanks to some heroics by Jordan Theodore (a step-back three when the Pirates were down 5) and Herb Pope (who was in the right place at the right time when Gilvydas Biruta inexplicably saved a ball that was going out of bounds under his own basket), Theodore and Edwin teamed up to tie up Eli Carter on a drive, a huge defensive play that gave the Pirates the ball and a chance to take a lead with under a minute left. Theodore brought the ball up, under control as he had been all game. Pope came to the area between the circles and set a screen on the man defending Theodore, Jerome Seagears. He was stationary. His feet were shoulder width apart. Seagears flopped. Pope was called for the personal.

Due to our broadcast angle, I couldn't see whether or not the screen was completely legal. On the replay, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that it was. Seagears knew a screen was coming- it had come all night long. He went down, sporting good gamesmanship. But that foul, in that situation, in that game, should NEVER have been called.

After that, Rutgers ran their offense, and the Pirates defended very well, until Seagears fell down on the baseline after running into his own man, Dane Miller. Aaron Cosby was defending Seagears man-on-man, and after Seagears fell down, Cosby let his mind wander for just a half-second, if that. In that time, Seagears got up, cut to the corner, got the pass, set his feet, and made the game-winning shot over Cosby's outstretched arm. Give all the credit in the world to Seagears for making the shot and not giving up after he went down, but you have to wonder if Seagears hadn't tripped over his own man, what would have happened on that possession.

- No Blame Game

This was an extremely tough game that was well-played by both sides. It was physical from the opening tip, it was exciting, and after what transpired, there is no one for Pirate fans to pin the loss onto. Not one person or coach or referee. Rutgers made more plays, made more shots, than the Pirates did. Sound familiar? It's what Seton Hall did at the RAC a few weeks ago. The statistics were great on both sides, with Dane Miller taking home the MVP after what was by far his best game of the season. It stings like hell for me to have witnessed that in what was my last home game at the Rock (being a senior and all), and it will sting until the two teams meet again, but anyone who tries to pin this loss on anything other than Rutgers simply being better yesterday is ignoring the facts and the game that occurred in front of them.

- Record Watch

Theodore, with 17 PTS, 9 AST, and just 1 turnover, had a good game, and his three point attempt to tie the game was halfway down before it popped out. I wouldn't have had anyone else take that shot. His 9 AST tied the single season record held by Golden Sunkett for nearly 40 years, a remarkable feat.

Fuquan Edwin had slipped to second in the nation in steals, just behing Jay Threatt of Delaware State, before exploding for 7 STL against Rutgers. That not only gave him the lead again, but it tied Paul Gause's single season record in STL.

- Supporting Cast

When I say the Rock was jam-packed, I mean it. The announced attendance of 10,945 set a new record for Seton Hall attendance at the Prudential Center, and it was the most impressive crowd I've seen at home. The student section was rocking and engaged the entire time, the crowd got loud- REALLY loud- and it was so great to see after so many years. A+++ for the fans.

- Final Countdown

As of today, Joe Lunardi still has Seton Hall in the Tournament, but this loss puts a big dent in the hopes for the Dance. The Pirates face a must-win situation at DePaul next Saturday, a game I'll be calling on WSOU, and following that, the Pirates will need to win a game at Madison Square Garden at the Big East Tournament, perhaps two depending on the state of the bubble at the time. What's helping the Pirates is that so few bubble teams are taking care of business right now. Seton Hall needs to avoid being in that category. DePaul is tough on their home floor, and a full preview will be up next week.

It's been just four days since the Pirates beat Georgetown and put themselves in the driver's seat for the Big Dance, but it seems like an eternity.

Why? Because this little rematch was on the horizon. That day is finally here. And it's Senior Day to boot, with an expected sellout of the Rock that includes over 1200 students. The archrivals are back in town, and everyone knows how big this game would be even if Seton Hall didn't control its own destiny.

Rutgers

2011-12 record: 12-16 (4-11 Big East)

All-time series record: 35-26

Last meeting: 2/8/12 (59-54 SHU W)

Since this is a rematch, we know all about the personnel at Rutgers, so i'll keep this (relatively) brief.

For starters, it's the last home game for Herb Pope, Jordan Theodore, and All-American Walk-On Peter Dill (who gets the start tonight, by the way, something that's sure to delight Pirate fans and draw huge cheers). All of these players will be missed, and each of them has had a long, winding journey to get where they are today.

For Theodore, he was the second point guard to commit to Bobby Gonzalez out of high school, and he was an obvious fit for that system- he was talented with the ball, able to make plays in transition with ease while always being in the top-2 on the team in terms of perimeter defense (on the ball, he's been #1 for the last three seasons). After Gonzalez was fired, Theodore had serious thoughts about transferring before a chat with Iona point guard Scott Machado changed his mind.

I think I can speak for all when I say that Seton Hall fans are thankful for that chat. After a very up-and-down first season as the starting point guard under Kevin Willard, he's blossomed into a true floor general and leader, something that's still remarkable to me even at this point in the season. He's 10 AST away from passing Golden "Sunny" Sunkett for the all-time record for AST in a single season, and in a twist that you just have to love, Sunkett, who's been battling health issues in the last few years, will actually be in the building to see if Theodore can pull it off tonight against Rutgers. He's had amazing games, he's had clunkers, but he's had a big impact on the program, and as a senior whose witnessed his entire career firsthand, I can't picture Seton Hall Basketball without him.

For Pope, the road has been even more winding. After a brilliant high school career in Aliquippa, PA, Pope was shot several times at a party his senior year. This caused him to get as far away from the steel city as possible, committing to New Mexico State. After his head coach there, Reggie Theus, left for the NBA, Pope decided to transfer to Seton Hall to play for Gonzo, and after sitting out a year, he quickly established himself as one of the better rebounders in all of college basketball, averaging a double-double and leading the Big East in rebounding his first year in South Orange.

After Willard took the job, Pope nearly died following a collapse after a workout at Walsh Gym, and how he survived can only be described as divine intervention. His junior season, he was a shell of himself, but still averaged close to a double-double. This season, Pope's back to being one of the best post players in the conference, even better than he was his sophomore year. His rebound (no pun intended... OK, maybe it was intended) this season was (and is) one of the feel-good stories in college hoops and although he can still sometimes get carried away on the court, he's been just as valuable as Theodore because of his presence in the post the last few years. When you consider what he's been through in his 20-some-odd years, you can't help but root for him. He will be sorely missed.

For Dill, he became an overnight sensation because of SportsCenter. The most-watched ESPN program picked up on his celebrations on the bench during Seton Hall's win over UConn back in January, and the train hasn't stopped moving for him. He may be the most-beloved walk-on ever at the Hall, and it's all genuine. I interviewed him for Seton Hall media day, and what everyone now sees is what I saw that day- a guy who has an infectious spirit and a quick wit that gets everyone smiling. I have still yet to hear him sing, though- he told me he was the best singer on the team. If his voice is as good as his team spirit, he should win a Grammy or two, or five. He'll get the start tonight, like Darnell Gatling before him, and have his moment in the spotlight. I couldn't think of anyone more deserving.

Ok, so I lied about keeping it brief. Can you blame me? This is Senior Night for yours truly as well. I'll be providing color commentary and hosting Hall Line on WSOU, and I won't believe it's my last game at the Rock until it's actually over. I distinctly remember going to Prudential Center for opening night four years ago, and being the only student to attend the women's basketball game before the men's game vs St. Francis that night. From then to now, it's been a blur, but I remember every game in it's own right.

Since this quickly turned into a bit of a Senior Night "Confessions of a Pirate" thing, let's get to the keys to the game before I start to tear up again....

Seton Hall will win if:

- They defend and crash the boards. What really worked to Seton Hall's advantage in the first game against Rutgers this season was the defense and rebounding. The matchup zone confused Rutgers' frosh backcourt and neither Jerome Seagears nor Eli Carter nor Myles Mack had good days. Couple this with the fact that the Pirates' frontcourt of Pope, Brandon Mobley and Fuquan Edwin combined to outrebound Rutgers' entire team 31-30, and you got an effort where the complete game for Theodore (24 PTS) was enough to get the win, along with some timely threes from Aaron Cosby. Rutgers will come out strong, looking to spoil Senior night as the Pirates did two seasons ago at the RAC, and rebounding is mostly effort. A strong game on the boards will benefit Seton Hall once again.

- The sellout crowd feels like one. Some of this has to do with how the Pirates play, but if Rutgers thinks they know what a road crowd feels like, they haven't faced one that will be this intense. Rivalry games on the road demand another level of toughness, both mentally and physically, and the crowd (most of whom will be rooting against the Scarlet Knights) can play a huge role in this game. If the Rock gets rockin', the young Knights will have a whale of a task against the leadership of Theodore and the Pirates' defense coupled with a loud crowd. Memo to Pirate fans- as J-Lo once said, LET'S GET LOUD!

- The seniors play under control. Theodore and Pope will be especially hyped for Senior night and rightfully so, but rather than try to blow Rutgers out of the water, the seniors need to play under control. Emotions will be there, and probably will be raw, but controlling them against a Rutgers defense that will be looking for turnovers is key in this game. If the seniors play under control, it will give confidence to the young guns as well, which has been a key all season long.

Rutgers will win if:

- They can make outside shots. Rutgers couldn't buy a basket from beyond the arc at home vs SHU a couple weeks ago, even when they were open, which wasn't too often. Mack in particular, the best shooter Rutgers has, had a stinker of a game, and Carter's effort from deep wasn't much better. Threes could keep Rutgers in it, but they'll be tough to get against Seton Hall, who's been one of the best teams at defending the three in the Big East all season long.

- Gil Biruta stays on the floor. Last game, Biruta struggled with early foul trouble, and after that just struggled, period. The Scarlet Knights need him on the floor to defend against Pope, because without him, there isn't anyone who can hope to match up with him on the Rutgers roster.

- Dane Miller steps up. He had 17 PTS, 10 REB and 3 BLK in his last game at the Rock, a Rutgers victory. He's been wildly inconsistent this season, and Rutgers is a different team when he plays well.

Bottom line is the Pirates have to channel their emotions and focus on the task at hand tonight, as they look for a sweep of Rutgers for the third time in four years. Pledge to Wear Blue, and Let's Go Pirates!

I said after the St. John's game that the Pirates had played perhaps the best game I'd ever seen from them.

Well, after what went down last night at the Rock, I take that back. THAT performance, walloping the Georgetown Hoyas (#9 in the nation) by nearly 20 points, was the best I've seen Seton Hall play.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from a tried and true signature win:

- Basketball Ballet

"Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit. Team, team, team. No one more important than the other"

Coach Norman Dale, Hoosiers

As I watched the game late night on Tuesday after returning to campus, I realized pretty quickly that I was watching art on a basketball court. The Pirates played as One, moved as One, defended as One. It was the most remarkable thing- the unselfishness, the intensity, the flow, the IMMACULATE matchup zone defense... I'm tearing up just thinking about it. Folks, that's about as beautiful as basketball can get. I need a moment....

- Night and Day

I'm referring to the level of effort at the beginning of the Cincinnati game compared to this game. Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope meant business on Tuesday night, and there was never a second that either was on the court that someone could have used to suggest otherwise. That confidence spread to the entire team. We've learned this year that as the Seniors go, so do the Pirates, both good and bad. Sure, Seton Hall had one of those nights where everything dropped for them, but the leadership and effort of the seniors helped in this regard. They established the pace and flow of the game early and never really diverted themselves from that flow.

- Captain of the Ship

You know, I gotta hand it to Jordan Theodore. His first shot was a tough pull-up on the move over a defender right in his face. From that moment on, he was feeling it. He turned in a Man's Game tonight with the performance of his life in terms of shooting the ball. A career-high 29 PTS on just ELEVEN shots from the field, including 5-5 from downtown. Watching him just pull up with confidence whenever the Hoyas made the deadly mistake of leaving him open, it was like watching Deron Williams torch Jeremy Lin for me- pure joy.

- Confidence? Czech!

Coach Willard noticed that Patrik Auda had been playing very well as of late, and moved him back to the starting lineup. Well, ladies and gentlemen, Auda's back. His line of 7 PTS/5 REB/4 AST/2 STL/1 BLK with no turnovers was pretty nice, but Auda showed that his confidence is back by going to the bucket with conviction. Perhaps the surest sign came in the first half, when he caught the ball in the right corner, pump-faked to get Henry Sims in the air, then drove right by Sims with his RIGHT hand to draw a foul at the rim. When was the last time we saw Auda go to his right? His journey back to being a critical rotation player in the last few games has been vastly underrated.

- Resume

Seton Hall had a very "NCAA Bubble" resume of no signature wins alongisde no "bad" losses (I've disagreed with that part of it for some time now, but numbers are numbers...). Well, not anymore. This win is so huge because of the timing of it all- with so little time left in the season, there's virtually no way that this win over the Hoyas will mean any less than it does right now, as has happened with both West Virginia, UConn and Dayton.

With this signature win in hand, if the Pirates take care of business in their final two games, they'll be sitting pretty. Not only that, but two more victories will mean that Seton Hall will be playing in the Big East Tournament with house money. These two games, vs Rutgers and @ DePaul, are by no means easy. But the Pirates are certainly in the driver's seat for a return to the Promised Land. And that's nice. It's been a while.

Well, folks, this is it. It's the final opportunity of the season for the Pirates to get a signature victory, and this time, we all know that it will stay that way if it happens (unlike the WVU and UConn wins earlier this season).

Here's what you need to know about the Hoyas:

Georgetown

2011-12 record: 20-5

All-time series record: 40-53

Last meeting: 1/18/11 (80-75 SHU L)

Georgetown, by all accounts and purposes, by numbers and the so-called "eye-test," is a very good team. They still run a system involving the Princeton offense and a disciplined defense, and still are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the conference.

Still with Georgetown is Jason Clark, the epitome of Hoyas basketball. He's the leading scorer for this year's club, and he's a very good three-point shooter and defender on the perimeter with veteran smarts. Joining him in the Hoyas' backcourt are Jabril Trawick and Markel Starks. Trawick is a solid guard, while Starks has been a bit of a three-point sniper this season after barely playing last season.

In the Hoya frontcourt is where the strength of the team lies. Henry Sims has had a monumental senior year, showing off some ball skills while being a defensive anchor down low AND leading the team in assists. He's one of the best-passing big men in the nation, and it gives a whole new dimension to the Hoyas' offense. Nate Lubick brings hustle and heart to the lineup.

And then there's two freshmen in Otto Porter and Greg Whittington. Porter has an old-school midrange game, and he's been doing a little of everything this season. Whittington has, rather unexpectedly, become a nice piece off the bench for John Thompson III, giving all he can on defense.

Oh, and don't forget Hollis Thompson. He's the best shooter from beyond the arc in the Big East this year, making a ridiculous 48% from deep this year. Thompson can also get to the rim, making him Georgetown's most dangerous offensive weapon.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They can run offense and make threes. Georgetown is terrific in almost every defensive category- 2nd in the Big East in scoring defense, 3rd in FG% defense, 1st in 3P% defense, 5th in blocks, and 2nd in defensive rebounding percentage. Seton Hall's tough task is to be able to score against the Hoyas, something not many teams have been able to do this year. The opening 5 minutes of the game need to set the tone for the Pirates in this regard.

Georgetown will win if:

- They play at their pace. The Hoyas are a slow-it-down type of team. That's not to say they won't run, but the Princeton offense prides itself on getting easy shots off of precise ball movement and cutting, and that requires taking time off the shot clock to properly run their sets. Seton Hall would like to play faster than this, so if Georgetown can control the tempo on the road, they'll be in great shape.

Don't be fooled by the final score- this game wasn't that close. The Bearcats jumped on the Pirates early and never relinquished their hold on the game.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from what can only be considered a frustrating loss in Cincinnati:

- Bricklaying

The Pirates made an unreal amount of their shots on Tuesday night. It did not continue into Saturday's contest. The ice-cold shooting doomed the Pirates, especially when you consider they only lost by 5 points. Combined, Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope were 9-32 in this game, and even though Pope somehow finished with a double-double of 10 PTS and 14 REB (my guess: it was magic) and Theodore had 15 PTS, 6 REB and 5 AST, both had subpar games. And that's to say nothing of the fact that Theodore took 21 of those shots. The Pirates didn't make a single three in the second half (0-9), skewering their chances of coming back as the lead fluctuated back and forth from 8-11 points, but was never seriously cut into until it was too late. Some of this was Cincinnati's defense, but open looks and layups were missed Saturday afternoon.

- Effort and Defense

Both were between good and very good all game long. Seton Hall opened up in man-to-man defense to try and cut down on the open looks from beyond the perimeter and to try and make UC run their offense through Yancy Gates (who was extremely quiet in this game). It didn't work, as the Bearcats made their early threes anyway. In fact, at 7-12 from deep in the first half, they made their threes throughout the half. It wasn't for a lack of effort on the Pirates' end- UC just made more shots. That's why it's a frustrating loss to take for Pirate fans. The Pirates held Cincinnati to just 32% shooting in the second half, but they still couldn't take advantage on the offensive end.

Another indication of the effort was the fact that the Pirates, who aren't a very good offensive rebounding team as it is, grabbed 18 O-boards, or nearly half their total. The effort was there. The made shots were not.

- Slow Starts

This really applies to most of both halves, but the Pirates scored a combined total of TWO points between the beginning of both halves and the first media timeout of both halves. COMBINED. That's not exactly sponsored by Red Bull.

In fact, because of the 13-7 run the Pirates went on to conclude the first half, I think the halftime break actually hurt them. They came out with a similar lack of rhythm in the second stanza. Seton Hall's offense has to get going quicker than that, and the responsibility for that happening falls squarely on Theodore. He took three out of the Pirates' first four shots, and that, to put it bluntly, is not a good thing. The SHU offense runs best (and runs at all, period) when Theodore lets his teammates do the talking on offense early in games. By this point in his career, Jordan should have already realized that bad things happen when he tries to do everything himself. I'm not going to over-analyze this any more.

- UC Credit

You gotta give some credit to Cincinnati- they played very good defense, and had their guards step up and play like they needed the W (which they did). Dion Dixon was tremendous on both ends (20 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST), and Cashmere Wright and Jaquon Parker combined for 25 PTS, 9 REB and 5 threes. They also did a good job of challenging the Pirates' perimeter players, barely giving them any room to work with the ball. In other words, Cincinnati is who we thought they were- a good defensive team that augments their defense with the three-point shot to beat you.

- Bubble Trouble

This isn't a death knell to the Pirates' Big Dance hopes, but it really would have helped for the purposes of the standings and because a W would likely have knocked the Bearcats off the bubble themselves. They now face an enormous test against Georgetown, a now-Top 10 team and the Pirates final remaining chance for a great win (their previous wins that we thought would be great are no longer great, or even very good). I maintain that if the Pirates get wins in their final three games, they'll be in. But if they can't beat Georgetown, that puts an enormous amount of pressure on the team to beat both Rutgers (always a toss-up no matter what the venue) and DePaul (who has proven that it can play with anyone at home this season), plus get one win against Team X in the Big East Tournament. I don't know if this team is an NCAA Team yet. Only time will tell. Being back at home will help, but Georgetown is a team that can win, and has won, ugly. Seton Hall has shown time and time again that it cannot do this. A full preview of the game will be up on Tuesday morning.

It seems there will be even more Hazards to 'Zet Forward' from before this year is out.

Hey guys! So, we here at South Orange Juice want to give you, the fans, the best coverage possible of Seton Hall Basketball.

Sometimes, that includes a visit from our blogger friends from around the Big East, and today, we have a very special visit from Scott of Bearcats Blog, a terrific site for all things Cincinnati athletics. He has graciously agreed to answer some of our questions in advance of the SHU-UC game this afternoon. You can follow Scott on twitter at @BearcatsBlog.

You can also find my answers to his questions here.

Here we go!

SOJ: The Bearcats are a team that prides themselves on their defense. What’s the strategy that Mick Cronin likes to use at that end of the floor? Pressing? Man vs Zone?

BB: Cronin likes to press. When Parker is in the game, they normally press a lot. That's not to say they won't with Jackson in, but Parker is on the press unit. In the halfcourt, UC goes mainly man to man. If you give them enough fits, they might zone. But mainly UC plays man. Dixon will guard the faster point guards instead of Cashmere Wright though. I would look for Dixon on Theodore.

SOJ: Looking at the offensive numbers, Cincinnati chucks even more threes than Seton Hall does. What other dimensions to the UC offense should the Pirates be aware of?

BB: They drive and kick quite a bit. If Wright drives, he'll pass out around the foul line. Kilpatrick and Dixon mainly drive to score. Especially Kilpatrick. Parker is more a spot up shooter. He won't get his own shots. Gates will get some post touches, but he gets his buckets on offensive rebounds. That's how he scores a lot. And he'll dunk and I'll say #GatesDunk on twitter. Follow me. As for Jackson, he goes off of offensive boards, but has started making awkward drives from 8 feet that will make you laugh until he scores.

UC mainly rolls solo on their field goals. Only Wright racks up assists on the reg. Yeah, the reg. That's how Cincinnati bloggers talk.

SOJ: Cincinnati’s leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick is one of the better players that no one seems to talk about. Break down his game, and what he brings to the team.

BB: He brings the scoring threat. If you look at his numbers, you'll notice he's at the top of the Big East leaders in 3s made and attempted. The team took 14 against the team they played the other day, Kilpatrick took 10. Teams have started getting on him a lot tighter, which has made his shooting percentage drop. Kilpatrick has started driving more. He's pretty good when he's going to the basket because he catches people flat footed. He'll get to the line some. Not a lot though. If he is open, he's going to pull the trigger. If he's not, he'll still pull the trigger.

SOJ: Dion Dixon is an intriguing player. He doesn’t shoot the ball well, but seems to do everything else well for a guard. Is he the "glue guy" for this team?

BB: I wouldn't say he's the glue guy. He's definitely a key guy. He plays the off guard. When Wright is on the bench, he runs the point. If Cash isn't getting assists, chances are that Dixon is. Offensively, he's been a wreck from 3 this season. He improved a lot last year but has regressed some this year. He also isn't getting to the line as much as he did last year, which has hurt his offense. When he's got the ball, he goes solo. UC runs a lot of isos with him or high screens. He goes to the paint and makes his old man moves. Every once in a while he'll throw up a dunk. He passes well and plays decent enough defense, even though he's not very fast. Dixon hasn't rebounded very well this year. Before he had 6 rebounds Wednesday, he had 0 the previous 3 games. When he's got the game going, he's a very solid player.

SOJ: Obviously, the brawl with Xavier was a defining moment not only in the seasons of both teams involved but in the college basketball season in general. How has the team responded so well? Did Cronin have a lot to do with it in terms of his stern response? Specifically, how has Yancy Gates responded to the aftermath of the brawl?

BB: The biggest thing that changed with the Bearcats is that they stopped running the offense around Yancy Gates. It wasn't working. People look past the first 8 games, but they played like (redacted). They blew a huge lead to Presbyterian, couldn't put Marshall away and were humiliated by Xavier. Those losses were around uninspiring wins. When the guards became the stars, the offense took off. The opponents got worse, but the guards embraced the leadership role. Getting Parker back helped a lot as well. Mick really got the guys to buy in. It worked very well.

Gates has come back accepting a role as a rebounder and defender of the basket. He cleans up the glass on both ends. He's the only one on the Bearcats who will. I think he would like more touches, who wouldn't, but he gets them the hard way. In a league with few dominating bigs, Gates stands out. He needs to be more consistent offensively though. He gets too cute and doesn't go up strong.

SOJ: With a trio of big games coming up with Louisville, USF and a rematch with Marquette, is there a chance this could be a trap game for the Bearcats?

BB: I don't think so. The motto from Mick has been win the home games. This is a pretty big home game. With the teams in a similar boat, I don't think the Bearcats will be looking past this one. It's too late in the year for trap games. Especially when you are on the bubble.

SOJ: What’s your prediction for the game? Also, who is the player you think will be the "X-factor" for UC tonight?

BB: I expect a tournament style game. Probably Big East tournament. Maybe Maui Invitational. There is a sense of desperation around both teams. If the play isn't sharp, the intensity will be. I'm going to go homer on you and pick the Bearcats in a tight one. I would watch out for Dixon. I think he's going to have an impressive game.

Flying high after a rout of their local rival St. John's on Valentine's Day, the Pirates will look to continue to win as they seek their 4th straight victory in the Queen City.

Be on the lookout for a special Q&A session I did with our friends over at Bearcats Blog. That will be up on gameday morn.

For now, here's what you need to know about the Cincinnati Bearcats:

Cincinnati

2011-12 record: 18-8 (8-5 Big East)

All-time series record: 6-6

Last meeting: 12/31/10 (70-53 SHU L)

The Bearcats were part of one of the defining moments of the college hoops season, when they tussled (literally) with Xavier in their annual Crosstown Shootout game. Several players were suspended (including Yancy Gates for his part in the brawl), and no one knew how either team would come out of it.

While Xavier has gone south, Cincinnati has thrived since the fight. Head Coach Mick Cronin over the years has developed an environment of accountability, and it showed in the post-brawl games. Also evident in the post-brawl games was the fact that Cincinnati had to learn to win without Gates, and although the opponents were not so strong, the Bearcats' offense switched from being centered around Gates to being centered around the UC guards.

It's an intriguing mix of talent that Cronin has this season. In the backcourt, you have point guard Cashmere Wright, a well-rounded guard who can do everything a point guard would be asked to do. Next to him is Dion Dixon, who's a do-it-all player who can score as a two-guard, rebound if needed, and dish out assists while playing a little backup point guard from time to time. He's also a solid defender. Jaquon Parker is a dirty work type player who can also spot up and hit the three.

Then there's Sean Kilpatrick, who leads the conference in threes attempted and made. He has a sweet stroke from deep range, and has also contributed on the boards this season from time to time. The Pirates will need to pop out on him and challenge his shots.

Wright, Dixon and Kilpatrick can all do multiple things on the court, which makes them tough to defend. Ge'Lawn Guyn and Jeremiah Davis, both frosh, back up the guard spots.

In the frontcourt, there's big Yancy Gates, now a senior, for Herb Pope and Co. to deal with, and boxing Gates, an excellent rebounder, out is going to take some doing. Pope won't be able to do it alone, so the Hall will need Brandon Mobley, Patrik Auda and Aaron Geramipoor to take turns battling with the big man, especially Auda and Geramipoor. Backing Gates up are two much more athletic centers in Justin Jackson and Cheikh Mbodj. Mbodj is no slouch down low as a shot-blocker type, but Jackson is a player that brings a boatload of energy whenever he's on the court. He gets blocks and steals a-plenty, and hustles into most of his points. I'd expect Mobley, the Pirates' best interior athlete, to mark Jackson when both are in the game.

This is a crucial game for both teams in terms of the standings and the respective NCAA hopes of both squads. Both teams are on the bubble right now, and both could really use this game. Expect hustle all around, and a game in the low 60s by two teams that are very good on defense.

I'll be on the call for WSOU for this game, which has an odd late-afternoon start time. 89.5 FM for those in the NYC area, and wsou.net for everyone else.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They win the battle behind the arc. Seton Hall is among the top teams in the Big East in both 3-point percentage and 3-point percentage defense. Cincinnati is right up there from behind the arc offensively with the Pirates, but they're average in terms of defending the arc. The Hall's been on fire from deep, and if they continue this trend, and continue to hold their opponents at bay from downtown, they have a great shot to get their best road win since Dayton.

- They win the turnover battle. One thing that Cincinnati does not do often is turn the ball over (3rd in the conference in TO margin). Seton Hall has been good in TO margin as well this year. With both teams playing tough D, easy buckets off turnovers (and any buckets off turnovers) will be a stat to watch in this one.

Cincinnati will win if:

- Gates has his way. Seton Hall can't match up with Gates one on one. If the big guy muscles his way around the paint, not only will he either score or get to the line, but it will open up lots of looks for the three-pointer happy Bearcats. They're the only team in the entire conference to best Seton Hall in three pointers, made AND attempted.

- They out-hustle the Pirates. Cincinnati might need this game even more than the Pirates do. With their rather soft strength of schedule and RPI ratings, and games with Louisville, Marquette and USF in Tampa among their final games of the regular season. Expect Cincy to play with energy at home. If the Pirates can't match it, they'll be facing an uphill battle.

Wow.

I think everyone who made their way to the Rock for this game left with their jaws dropped at the show put on by the Seton Hall Pirates against St. John's.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from a Rout at the Rock:

- A True Team Win

I tweeted after the game that it may have been the best I've ever seen the Pirates play live, and it wasn't just because they made shots. It was because everyone was involved and contributing both on offense and defense. You look at the stat sheet from this one and it reads like a great novel. Double-doubles for Jordan Theodore (16 PTS, 10 AST), Herb Pope (10 PTS/10 REB) and Patrik Auda (12 PTS/10 REB). Every time you looked up, there was someone making a play. There was Haralds Karlis, knocking down threes and diving on the floor for loose balls. There was Aaron Cosby showing something more than shooting the three, running a little offense from time to time. There was Brandon Mobley being a beast on the boards. There was Freddie Wilson showing a confident late-game handle. There was Fuquan Edwin being a pest and knocking down a couple shots. Heck, there was Pete Dill with a couple sweet dishes and two steals in just about 90 seconds of playing time.

This was a team win from top to bottom, and I think everyone wearing blue and white tonight left the Rock with a sense of pride in their team, and their third straight conference win since the 6-game losing streak. After a performance like that, it's pretty safe to say that ugly stretch of games is behind this team.

- Bombs Away!

For the second straight season against St. John's, the Pirates literally could not miss from the three point line. Last year they went 12-18 from deep. Last night? 15-24 on deep balls, including makes in their first NINE attempts in the second half to turn a 12-point halftime lead into a blowout. It was a stunning display, and I don't think any of them were bad or forced shots. Just one of those nights for Seton Hall, except instead of being white-hot for a half, or an 8-minute span, they stayed hot.

- Get Auda Here!

Tremendous game by Auda, who notched his first career double-double while playing with tremendous confidence. He's finally starting to look like he means business on the court, and his line of 12 PTS and 10 REB in 23 minutes (in my opinion) has to be his best one of the season. It won't be talked about much, but Auda playing well was the icing on the cake for me (in addition to seeing Pete Dill get 2 assists) in this game.

- "When You Think, You Stink"

That's a mantra from my high school coach, and it's what St. John's was doing way too much of tonight. They're a young team, on the road, facing a defense like Seton Hall's, so I think we could have seen it coming. But there were several instances where the young Johnnies just didn't do a very good job of either moving the ball or making smart decisions with it. They got frustrated with the Seton Hall matchup zone, and as they did, the Pirates gained confidence that spilled over into the shooting on the offensive end. Things quickly snowballed out of control for St. John's when even close shots would not go down for them, and although they had their moments (a breakaway dunk by Sir'Dominic Pointer and a putback slam by Moe Harkless among them), this night belonged to the Pirates.

- Red Storm Chasers

Seton Hall, with the win, has now won 4 out of the last 5 against St. John's. Tonight was also the largest margin of victory ever for Seton Hall in the 102-year history of the rivalry, and only the second time the Pirates have ever beaten a Big East opponent by 30 or more points. The Pirates just have St. John's number right now- plain and simple. St. John's also still hasn't beaten the Pirates on the road since 1998.

Seton Hall is now on a three-game win streak and are playing very, very well. Next, they head to Cincinnati for a matchup with the Bearcats that could go a long way in determining seeding for the Big East Tournament. I'll be on the call for WSOU once again, and a full preview will be up on South Orange Juice this Saturday morning.

Hazard Zet Forward to all!

Welcome to the most comprehensive post I've ever done here on South Orange Juice! Well, maybe not- my Big East Preview was pretty comprehensive, but this is the first time I've posted thoughts AND a preview AND a Q&A with Rumble in the Garden all at the same time.

So here we go! First, 3 thoughts on the Pitt game:

- Herb's House

Herb Pope was, quite simply, amazing for the Pirates. He posted by far his strongest effort since Big East play began with 19 PTS and 14 REB with 3 AST, 3 BLK and 2 STL. Plus, he made his only three-pointer and made ALL SIX OF HIS FREE THROWS. Herb was locked in against his hometown college team, as I had an inkling that he would be, and he posted a near-double-double in the first half alone (9 PTS/9 REB). He also avoided foul trouble, a crucial part of this game because in the first half especially, it seemed like everyone was in foul trouble.

- Boom Goes the Backcourt

I could look back in the box scores from this season, but I don't think I'll find a better combination of both Jordan Theodore and Aaron Cosby playing as well as they did against the Panthers. Cosby was locked in from deep, posting a career-best 19 PTS and 5 threes with 3 REB and 2 STL, while Theodore had 15 PTS, 9 AST and just 1 turnover. If Theodore was the maestro of this game, Cosby was definitely the violin section with his sweet outside stroke. In case you're wondering, Pope was the brass in this analogy.

- The Run

With 7 minutes remaining in the second half after trading buckets with the Panthers for the entire half, Pitt finally opened up a 6 point lead. Fuquan Edwin then fouled out of the game on a strange call by Pat Driscoll on the baseline; he ruled that Edwin, who ran over Talib Zanna while making a floater on the baseline, put the shot in before he ran Zanna over, counting the basket, but charging the offensive foul, Edwin's 5th, as well.

That began the run that saved the season for Seton Hall for the moment. After Edwin's bucket, Cosby got one of his steals by picking a Tray Woodall pass clean and laying it in. With the lead down to two, and the shot clock winding down, Theodore drove baseline, tried to pass to Pope near the basket, got the ball back after it was deflected, and hit a fadeaway three as the buzzer went off. The crowd went bonkers. After Woodall missed, the Pirates got out in transition and Theodore found Haralds Karlis in the left corner. He knocked down a three, the crowd went even more bonkers, Pitt called timeout. A 10-0 run in the span of 3 minutes. Awesome.

Now, the Pirates face a quick turnaround for a Valentine's Day matchup with the St. John's Red Storm. And here's what you need to know about 'em:

St. John's

2011-12 record: 10-15 (4-9 Big East)

All-time series record: 33-54

Last Meeting: 3/3/11 (84-70 SHU W)

These aren't your older brother's Red Storm. Following last year's resurgence under Steve Lavin with that veteran roster, St. John's looks completely different.

For starters, the Red Storm have only 6 scholarship players to work with. The reasons for that are myriad- two of the highly touted freshman class weren't eligible due to academics (JaKarr Sampson, Norvel Pelle), a third (JUCO transfer Nurideen Lindsey) transferred to be closer to home, and the lone upperclassman (Malik Stith) just up and left. Even with Amir Garrett becoming eligible this semester, the Johnnies are extremely thin, especially up front, making this probably the first game all season the Pirates have the depth edge.

Individually, St. John's talent is pretty good. Moe Harkless is a specimen of an athlete with a knack for scoring the ball (he messed around and got 30 PTS and 13 REB.... AT DUKE). He's also averaging over 1.5 BLK and STL, making him a pretty clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year in the Big East. D'Angelo Harrison is a shooter with a picturesque outside shot who leads the Red Storm in scoring at nearly 17 PTS. He's also a very good free throw shooter who gets to the line 6 times a game. With this inside-outside duo, St. John's has a bright future.

Joining Harrison and Harkless are forwards Sir'Dominic Pointer and Amir Garrett, point guard Phil Greene, and JUCO center God'sgift Achiuwa. Pointer and Garrett are more athletes than basketball players right now, but each has potential. Pointer is a good defender in the post as well. Greene was forced into the starting PG spot when Lindsey left, and he is a point guard at his best in transition and attacking the rim. He doesn't have much of a jumper yet, but like everyone on the roster, he's a great athlete. Achiuwa is a physical center who can bang down low, rebound, and make shots in close. He was recently relegated to the bench to allow St. John's to be more effective in transition.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They take care of the ball. St John's plays a pressure defense that is always active. They extend this defense out to between the circles to try and force turnovers and run, so the onus is on the Pirate ballhandlers to be solid.

- They drive to the basket. St. John's has 6 scholarship players. That means that if the Pirates can get the Red Storm in foul trouble, especially Achiuwa, that will work to their advantage. They can do this by driving to the hoop rather than settle for jumpers. That's not to say Seton Hall shouldn't use their outside shots, but the mentality has to be taking the ball to the rim.

St. John's will win if:

- They run, run, run. Seton Hall has a size and a depth advantage in this game. St. John's can neutralize it by getting out and ramping up the tempo to superhuman levels. The Pirates can play fast as well, but St. John's has the athletic advantage.

- They get easy points. This covers transition buckets as well as the free throw line. Seton Hall can't give St. John's, one of the more offensively challenged teams in the Big East, free points.

Follow the jump for more analysis in our Q&A with our St. John's counterparts, Rumble in the Garden!

Continue reading this post »

It's the second edition of a SUPER-SIZED game preview. This time, we at SOJ exchanged questions and answers with the Pitt version of South Orange Juice here on the SBNation family of blogs, Cardiac Hill. You can catch my answers to CH's questions about the Pirates here.

For CH's answers to our questions about the Panthers, you can find them after the jump.

Pittsburgh

2011-12 record: 15-10 (4-8 Big East)

All-time series record: 20-31

Last meeting: 1/15/11 (74-53 SHU L)

The Panthers have had a tumultuous season so far, losing their first seven conference games as part of the longest losing streak in the Jamie Dixon era.

It can't be as simple as one injury, right? It very well could be with this team. Point guard Tray Woodall excelled to open the season in non-conference play, but the Panthers lost him when Big East play started with an injury. What followed was the aforementioned losing streak, during which Pitt's normally efficient offense stagnated horribly. Immediately after Woodall returned 5 games ago, they won 4 in a row before Wednesday's loss at USF. Woodall has shot the ball very well this year in addition to his already terrific floor game, making the backcourt duo of him and Ashton Gibbs one of the best in the conference.

Speaking of Gibbs, he also floundered while trying to run the point in Woodall's absence, and this is the primary reason why his shooting numbers are down from normal. He's still as dangerous a player in the nation to leave open from beyond the arc, so Seton Hall will need to know where he is.

Pittsburgh's wings are an interesting bunch that aren't very experienced in terms of game action. Our friends at Cardiac Hill break them down in the section below. Down low the Panthers have Nasir Robinson, an undersized power forward who makes his name with hustle and efficient scoring, as well as Talib Zanna and Dante Taylor. This front line is one of the biggest reasons why rebounding will be key- the Panthers rank near the very top of the league in almost every rebounding category.

One of the strange things (and also something discussed with Cardiac Hill below) is that Pitt's defense, long a strength for them, has not been one this year. That may be the poster stat for how weird this season has been in the Big East.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They continue to run their offense. Obviously, this falls on Jordan Theodore's shoulders, mostly, but against Rutgers the Pirates finally looked like their offense had some flow. It's no coincidence that the shooting was better in the Rutgers game as compared to the six games prior. Gotta keep the flow going.

- Herb Pope goes off. The last time the Panthers came to the Rock, Herb Pope had a monster game of 19 PTS and 9 REB. Being from Aliquippa, Herb always gets up to play the Panthers, and since this will likely be the final time he gets to face the hometown team, if he can have a great game, especially on the boards, the Pirates have a shot.

Pittsburgh will win if:

- Tray Woodall isn't encumbered. This is crucial to Pitt's success. They need a healthy Woodall, and as Cardiac Hill states below, that may or may not be the case on Sunday. If he's healthy, Woodall really does make this team a ton better.

- Unsung wings step up. I'm talking about Lamar Patterson, J.J. Moore, John Johnson, and the like. Gibbs, Robinson and Woodall are known commodities in the Big East. The rest of the players for Pitt are less known. Unexpected contributions could go a long way.

And for more on the Panthers, be sure to check out my Q&A with Cardiac Hill after the jump!

Continue reading this post »

Season: Saved, for now.

The Pirates collectively shook of their cold-shooting ways, dispatched their archrivals from New Brunswick in dramatic fashion (it's always dramatic between Seton Hall and Rutgers), and kept their hopes of the Big Dance alive for a few more days. It was absolutely necessary that the Pirates snap the losing streak at the RAC, and that's just what they did.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from Seton Hall's big win:

- Senior Leadership

There truly is no substitute for it. Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope put this team on their backs and willed them to victory. Theodore, despite some instances of out-of-control play, was amazing when the Pirates sorely needed it. His 24 PTS were two off his career-high (8-15 FG, 7-8 FT), his defense was fantastic as usual (3 STL), and although he only finished with 3 AST, that was due to some missed shots off his very, very good passing last night.

Pope was equally strong. He was focused, clearly amped up by the atmosphere, and he didn't force anything, taking only 9 shots (making 5) while finishing with 12 PTS and 12 REB. He did get into some early foul trouble, but it didn't faze him one bit. He set solid screens for Theodore/Wilson, etc..., contributed to the solid Pirate defense (more on that later), and (arguably the best thing he did all night) HIT A THREE. And not just any three- a momentum-shifting, crowd-silencing three right after the huge technical foul fiasco and the Dane Miller three that gave Rutgers the lead.

Unbelievable job by both seniors. The Pirates last night looked more like the team that started 15-2 than the team that had lost 6 in a row, and the majority of the credit has to be thrown their way.

- Frosh? By Gosh!

The seniors had some big help from the freshman starting duo of Brandon Mobley and Aaron Cosby in this game. Mobley grabbed 10 REB and had 3 AST, but only scored 3 PTS. That does not tell the story of Mobley's night. The forward was tremendous down low for the Pirates, seemingly grabbing every big rebound, and playing astute defense on the Rutgers bigs and in the matchup zone. He brought energy, length, and toughness, all things that are needed in rivalry games like this.

As for Cosby? Well, he hit three three-pointers. Each of them was big- his first was an early three that allowed the Pirates to get off to a quick start, his second was the shot that finally allowed the Pirates to get separation in a close game in the second half, but both paled in comparison to the DAGGER he hit from the top of the key over Eli Carter with 40 seconds left that sealed the Scarlet Knights' fate. It was a shot heard 'round the Garden State (off a dish from Mobley, no less), and without Cosby's bombs from deep, Seton Hall doesn't win this game.

Just a small aside to this point- Patrik Auda showed signs of life in this game for the first time in a long time. His line wasn't pretty (2 PTS, 1 REB, 5 TO in 17 minutes), but early in this game, Auda brought the energy and he was being aggressive, more aggressive than he's been since Dayton. It's progress for the Czech forward, and that's a good sign to see.

- Stop Signs Galore

I loved, loved, LOVED watching the Seton Hall defense last night. The matchup zone the Pirates use frustrates young and veteran teams alike, and Rutgers was no exception. Every single shot with the exception of just a couple threes was contested. The Pirates didn't fall for shot fakes by the Rutgers guards, their rotations were impeccable, their collapsing into the paint on drives was fantastic.

All told, Rutgers shot 32% in the game, 29% in the second half, and just 6-23 from deep. Eli Carter and Myles Mack combined for 4-21 shooting, 2-13 from deep, 16 PTS, 1 AST and 5 TOs. Fuquan Edwin, the Pirates' best defender, wreaked havoc off the ball, forcing 4 STL to go along with 9 PTS and 9 REB. In fact, the Pirates' starting frontcourt of Mobley, Edwin and Pope collectively outrebounded the entire Rutgers TEAM 31-30. Mission Accomplished.

- Jersey Pride

There was a scrum heading into the final media timeout involving Herb Pope and Eli Carter. Pope gave Carter a little nudge from behind (nothing out of the ordinary in a rivalry game like this), Carter took objection, Pope head-butted Carter (but not terribly hard), Carter shoved Pope (also not terribly hard), and Pope flopped backward to cause both coaches and teams to gather near midcourt. After the scrum was over, technicals were given to Pope and Carter, as well as Brandon Mobley (what he did to deserve one, I'll never know).

The final score may be ugly to those outside the rivalry, but in reality that sequence is commonplace in this series. This was a typical, physical Seton Hall-Rutgers game. Both teams played hard, there were many turnovers, usually off of good defensive plays by the two teams rather than dumb passes or unforced errors, and the experience of the Pirates won out. I'd expect the final regular season meeting later this month at the Rock to be no different, except for the color of the uniforms.

- Dancing with Panthers

Seton Hall, with this win, keeps alive its NCAA hopes for now. Their next opponent is Pittsburgh, a proud program that has gone through a very tough season. The Panthers saw their comeback chances from an 0-7 Big East start take a big hit with a loss at South Florida (my god, can ANYONE win there?), so they'll be ready to give it their all on Sunday afternoon. We all know Herb Pope saves a little extra something in his trunk for the Panthers, his hometown team, and because of their loss to USF, this game is just as big for Seton Hall. The Pirates need to make this rivalry win count by using it to get on a winning streak again. A full preview will be up here on the Juice on Saturday afternoon.

Until then, Hazard Zet Forward to all. And GOOOOO PIRATES!

It's finally here.

The latest chapter in one of the more underrated rivalries in all of college basketball will be written tonight in Piscataway. It's two gladiators of the Garden State, whose fanbases can't stand the sight of the others' colors let alone the teams those colors are attached to.

It's Seton Hall. It's Rutgers. And it's a guaranteed source of intense competition.

Here's the preview:

Rutgers

2011-12 record: 12-12 (4-7 Big East)

All-time series record: 34-26

Last meeting: 3/8/11 (76-70 SHU L; OT)

Both teams won on the others' home floor last season, and in the third meeting, the senior leadership of Jonathan Mitchell, Mike Coburn and James Beatty (all of whom made big plays down the stretch) overcame the individual brilliance of Jeremy Hazell in a crushing loss for the Pirates.

No doubt that will be on the minds of Herb Pope and Jordan Theodore, as Seton Hall goes for (can you believe it?) FIVE straight wins at the RAC. This time, it's the Hall that has the seniors, and those senior will need to lead in what will be a hostile environment, as usual.

This year, Rutgers looks pretty much completely different from last year's edition. Mike Rice brought in a heralded recruiting class that makes this a very interesting matchup between youth and (relative) experience. Leading the way is the freshman-filled backcourt of Eli Carter, Jerome Seagears and Myles Mack. Carter is a talented scorer and about as explosive as kerosene. When Carter gets going, he's the type of player where all you need to do is get out of his way. Seagears is the nominal starting point guard at the moment. While his playmaking skills are a little lacking at this point in his career, he's a good defender and brings good energy on the court. Mack is diminutive, but has deep range on his jump shot, and after a very rocky start to the year, he now comes off the bench, and has taken a liking to that role much more. Each guard has his strengths and weaknesses, and although none of them are taller than the Hall's Aaron Cosby, they are pests in Rice's style of pressure defense.

Then there is the frontcourt. Gilvydas Biruta is a strong player down low who's got more skill than you would think upon seeing him for the first time, and he is a perpetual hustler. Starting alongside him for a while now has been frosh forward Derrick Randall, who's a pretty good rebounder and gives Rutgers some good defensive skill down low (he's longer than Biruta). Joining those two are veteran backup Austin Johnson, and two more newcomers in Kadeem Jack (who was injured for a good chunk of the year, and hasn't really broken out what he really is, which is a long, athletic, shot-blocking big man) and Greg Lewis.

In terms of wings, Rutgers has two in Mike Poole and Dane Miller. Poole's game will instantly remind you of Robert "Stix" Mitchell- he is a solid mid-range shooter who can hit a three as well on offense, and a defender who fills in the gaps as a "glue guy."

Miller has been a giant mystery this year. At times, his energy and defensive abilities make the Scarlet Knights a completely different team. At other times, he completely disappears. He and Fuquan Edwin ratcheted up the intensity in the offseason, going right at each other and giving everything they had.... in a SUMMER LEAGUE game. That matchup could determine who wins this game (more on that in a moment).

Miller is the poster child for Rutgers as a team this season, actually- extremely inconsistent in all phases of the game. It's not as bad as it was at the beginning of the year for the Scarlet Knights, but the RAC crowd has been very good this year so far, and I expect them to make it hard on Seton Hall to try and exploit any inconsistencies that may show up.

Seton Hall will win if:

- The seniors play like seniors. Other than Pope, Theodore and Edwin, the Pirates are just as young as Rutgers is. The common thread of the losing streak (other than not being able to buy a bucket) is the struggles of the two Pirate seniors. With their NCAA hopes hanging on by a thread and with a 6-game losing streak coming in, Seton Hall needs this game badly. And they need the upperclassmen to lead them to victory.

- Fuquan Edwin wins his matchup with Dane Miller. Edwin at his best is when he's getting out in transition on the offensive end, knocking down his threes with an unorthodox but successful stroke, and being one of the biggest pests in the nation on defense. There's an electricity between him and Miller, who will likely be responsible for guarding him most of the game. If he gets the best of Miller, numbers-wise or when he's being checked by the Rutgers junior, it will be huge.

As an aside to that key for the Pirates, I think Seton Hall needs to push the pace and get out in transition, where Edwin can really shine, and where there will be opportunities at easy baskets. Lord knows the Pirates need easy baskets right now. Because I don't think there will be too many instances where Rutgers will fall asleep and allow a leak-out, a turnover-forced transition game (ironically, another area in which Edwin can help) will greatly help Seton Hall. Heck, even when Rutgers gets back in time, there needs to be a so-called "secondary break," where the offense still moves the ball as quick and decisively as they would in a transition opportunity so as not to let the defense get too set in their ways. Look for the upperclassmen's stat lines and the transition stats to be key tonight.

Rutgers will win if:

- They keep the ball out of the lane on defense. Rice likes to play a man-to-man defense, but against the Pirates, you may see a zone because of the Hall's shooting struggles, and to keep the ball out of the paint. In a man defense, Seton Hall can get it down to Pope on the baseline or block, and when the inevitable double-team comes, there is always a player open somewhere. Against a zone, post-ups are difficult, and kick-out opportunities less sure to find an open teammate. I think the rest of this year Coach Willard needs to come armed with a zone offense because until Seton Hall gets themselves out of their shooting slump, there's no reason to play man-to-man unless a team is set in its ways (a la UConn).

- Eli Carter goes off. Seton Hall's defense is difficult to score against for a veteran team, let alone one that starts 3 freshmen at times. The one player who can really bust their zone and score regardless of what defense you play or how good you play it is Carter, capable of pulling up on the move or taking the ball strong to the hoop. Seton Hall needs to know where he is at all times.

The atmosphere will be intense. The coaches will be intense. The game will be intense (no guarantees on pretty to watch). Rutgers wants to break the Hall's streak at the RAC. Seton Hall wants to break their losing streak and keep their Big Dance hopes alive.

It's Seton Hall. It's Rutgers.

Game ON.

Greetings, Pirate Nation.

I realized that after the most recent loss to Connecticut that left everyone with a sinking, unpleasant feeling in their stomachs that to post 5 Thoughts on a game like that at this point in the season would sound like a death knell. I wasn't in the right mental state to deal with that loss. It was the ugliest loss of the year. I, like the rest of the team, no doubt, wanted to put that game in the rear view mirror.

That brings me back to probably the most-positive thing I've written in some time. There is some time left in the season. And since the team is free-falling, this may sound silly to you. But here are my thoughts on a situation in which the Pirates can salvage a once-promising season.

Everything henceforth is tentative based on the tracks that UConn, Notre Dame and Louisville (and MAYBE USF) end up taking the rest of the season. These are all teams that the Pirates have lost to, and teams that could, provided they still continue to win, help out the Pirates. Right now, the Irish seem like the most likely team to do this. Seton Hall needs these teams to do well.

Now, on to the scenario that COULD get Seton Hall into the Tournament (with heavy emphasis on the capitalized word). You can find it after the jump.

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The rematch is here. And it matters more than nearly everyone will admit.

Seton Hall is reeling from five straight losses, all but the last one to teams they probably should have beaten. Coincidentally, UConn is also reeling- they've lost 4 in a row to Cincinnati, Tennessee (BAD loss), the resurgent Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and most recently to Georgetown in a performance that set the season-low mark in terms of offensive futility. Jim Calhoun also won't be on the sidelines against the Pirates.

But that win over the Huskies? It doesn't mean as much now. UConn's recent string of losses has dropped them from the Top-25, and they desperately need this win, too.

As our esteemed editor GonzoBallSHU said earlier this week on Twitter, the winner of this game saves their NCAA hopes for another day, while the loser is destined for the NIT. Because this is a repeat opponent, there's no need for an extensive scouting report on the details of UConn's personnel or system.

What is noticeable over the stretch of the losing streak is that UConn's guard play is positively terrible. Their offense has no flow right now, and Shabazz Napier hasn't proved he can run an offense while Jeremy Lamb looks like a shell of himself. In their game against Georgetown, there was a total lack of movement, plus a total lack of shot-making. Many of those missed shots were contested jumpers, which UConn is settling for way too much.

Early in the game, the Huskies pounded it down low to Andre Drummond, and that worked well. Ryan Boatright was getting into the paint and running the offense very well. But after Napier came in, Boatright went out with foul trouble, and the offense suffered.

Because the Huskies suffer from a general lack of leadership or direction on the court, this is the worst possible time to lose Jim Calhoun again. It broke on Friday afternoon that the Hall-of-Fame coach will be taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, meaning that George Blaney will be on the sidelines. As Pirate fans know from the last time these two teams met, no Calhoun matters a lot. It mattered more on the road, but even with the game taking place in Hartford, I think Seton Hall caught a break.

The Pirates' issues haven't been with leadership, but shot-making. Against Marquette, the starting lineup was shaken up, and the Pirates finally got out in transition again. They missed too many layups rather than three point shots this time (they only took 15 threes all game and made 5, an average percentage), but they still need to be better in that department. Another issue pending in this game is whether or not Herb Pope will be able to play. He bruised a couple of ribs in Milwaukee diving for a loose ball, and is officially a game-time decision. Personally, I think it would take nothing short of being run over by a Mack truck to keep Herb Pope out of this game, but we'll have to see.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They can jump out in front early. A quick start is very important on the road, and the Pirates got off to one in their last game before a huge second half run got the Golden Eagles the win. It really doesn't matter how the quick start happens (either in transition attacking the basket or shooting threes). Especially if Pope ends up not being able to go, the quick start is very important.

- The bigs step up. With Pope's status up in the air, this will be paramount if he can't go. But even with Pope playing, Brandon Mobley, Aaron Geramipoor, and ESPECIALLY Patrik Auda need to step their game up against Drummond and company. Last game it was Jordan Theodore and Aaron Cosby that stepped their games up and won the Pirates the game with 7 of their 10 threes. This time with the recent shooting struggles, it's gonna have to be won in the trenches.

UConn will win if:

- They get better guard play. Shabazz Napier has had an extremely disappointing season, Ryan Boatright has his stretches, good and bad, and Jeremy Lamb has settled for jump shots. UConn doesn't run their offense through their big men, meaning as the guards go, so do the Huskies.

- They make "momentum plays." One thing the Huskies have going for them is their home crowd. Big dunks, big blocks, any momentum plays to get the crowd involved will be what UConn will need. If the Huskies use that crowd to fuel their play, they'll have a great shot against a team that hasn't really proven they can win on the road in the Big East yet.

I don't know what to say, guys.

Seton Hall played relatively well for the first time in a while, and had their best half of basketball since the DePaul game. But they didn't get the win, what would have been a huge, enormous win in the final chance to get a true quality road victory this season.

Here are the 5 Thoughts from an exceedingly frustrating game:

- Opening Strong

The first 20 minutes of this game were phenomenal. Seton Hall came out of the gates and matched Marquette's intensity. They fed the ball down low to Herb Pope (16 PTS, 7 REB) in the absence of Davante Gardner, and Pope controlled the paint accordingly. The energy brought by a totally shaken-up starting 5 translated into the Pirates getting out and pushing the pace, which also helped them greatly. Seton Hall led by as many as 11 PTS in this half as they got contributions from Pope, Fuquan Edwin, Brandon Mobley, Aaron Geramipoor, and more. They were pressured by a tough Marquette man-to-man, and moved the ball, played for each other, and used enough shot-fakes to make Bob Knight blush in excitement. Tremendous first half, even if the score didn't show it due to some late Herb Pope foul trouble.

- Finishing Weak

While they weren't quite as easy as the layups they missed in the Louisville game, there were still way too many shots missed in-close. That's the first meaning of the thought title.

Second meaning? That's obvious- a huge Marquette run buoyed by the Golden Eagles finally making some threes and Vander Blue of all people exploding onto the scene with the best game of his career after a rough start put this game out of the Pirates' reach. More ridiculous hero offense from Jordan Theodore didn't help things.

In fact, the Marquette run was jump-started by a lob in transition to Blue for a 2-hand dunk. The crowd, which had been dormant the whole night, rose from the grave and helped their team out. I talk about these momentum plays all the time, and Seton Hall was on the verge of several in this game, but could never get them to follow through. That one play led to another, and away the Golden Eagles went. They also did a nice job of fronting Herb Pope in the post to deny him the ball- Jae Crowder was positioned in full deny position on Pope whenever Seton Hall would look for the entry pass, and Marquette's defender on the opposite side of the paint shaded towards the basket to prevent the lob pass over Crowder.

- Fantastic Freddie

The reason the Pirates were even still in this game after the big Marquette run was a totally unexpected source of offense. Freddie Wilson had quite the game- 7 PTS, 3 AST and 1 TO as he responded when the ball was put in his hands in the second half. He looked comfortable handling the ball against the Marquette defense, and he gave the team a spark down the stretch, although it failed to turn into a fire.

- Personnel Changes

I feel like this needs to be said at this point in the season. When I saw the topsy-turvy lineup that Coach Willard put on the floor, I was a little hesitant. After the first couple possessions, I wasn't anymore. Coach Willard shook things up by starting 3 new players in place of the usual starters, and it was great. If you look at the box score, everyone got involved and played their share of minutes.

But down the stretch of this game, there were a few things that could not be ignored. First, Jordan Theodore reverted to the hero offense. This killed the Pirates, and when Seton Hall could have gotten within two late in the ballgame, the one time Theodore should have gotten the ball, he gave it up to Edwin, and it turned into a shot clock violation. He did have a 7/1 AST/TO ratio tonight, which is nice, but most of those had to have come in the first half.

Theodore is the most important player on the team this year. But when Marquette got tough, and Junior Cadougan stuck to him like glue to deny him the ball if he gave it up, Theodore wilted and started doing too much dribbling. The argument this season has been that because no backup has emerged behind him, the Pirates have to leave him on the floor, and that's been true for the most part. But I think it's time to start giving Freddie Wilson more time, especially if Theodore continues to go back to his old, bad habits.

Second, it's time to give serious thought to cutting down Patrik Auda's minutes. Auda's confidence level is at the bottom of the ocean right now, and his jitters are affecting his play. It was so obvious tonight that 18 minutes he got were about 12 minutes too many. He's not even looking for his shot anymore from the outside, and when he does look to score it's always on bull-rushes to the rim with the left hand; these rarely work because defenses rotate over and make him miss. We're not even going to talk about rebounding- why talk about something that isn't there anymore?

Brandon Mobley (7 PTS, 6 REB in the same 18 minutes of playing time) gives the Pirates length and athleticism down low and also serves as the initial deny defender in the Pirates' press. You can't throw the ball to him on the block yet, but he's about a billion times more likely to help the cause right now. He even looks to shoot the three when he's open; sometimes that gets him into a bad shot or two, but the point is he's aware of when he has an opportunity to do so. It was the right move to start him against Louisville, and it's now the right time to give him more of Auda's minutes.

Can Seton Hall just bench Auda? Absolutely not. But they need to cut down his minutes drastically. Simplifying things for him can help him get his confidence back because if he's brought in to do a specific thing (such as hustle, look to shoot, etc...) in a smaller amount of time, it will help him immensely.

More minutes for Wilson and Mobley, and less for Theodore and Auda. I hope Coach Willard makes it happen.

- Life Support

As in, the Seton Hall NCAA hopes are on life support. The game with a sliding UConn team on Saturday is an absolute must win if this team is to not completely collapse from it's 15-2 start. The Huskies will have Jim Calhoun back, and will be out for revenge in front of their home crowd. I wish it didn't have to come to this particular game, but the Pirates have put themselves in this hole. If they don't want to get trapped down there, they have to beat the Huskies in Hartford. A full preview will be up here on the Juice on Friday afternoon. Can Seton Hall keep themselves from spiraling out of contention?

UPDATE (5:20 PM): Marquette big man Davante Gardner will NOT suit up tonight due to a left knee sprain.

And so it comes to this.

This game represents the only "sure thing" in terms of opportunities for a quality road win that is left in Seton Hall's season. UConn has slid out of the polls for the time being, and Cincinnati isn't getting any love from the Committee right now. It's the number 15 team in the nation, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, with a 4-game losing streak that has seen the offense MIA the entire time.

Just another day in the Big East. Here's the low-down on Marquette:

Marquette

2011-12 record: 18-4 (7-2 Big East)

All-time series record: 2-8

Last meeting: 3/5/11 (85-72 SHU W)

This is going to be a whale of a task for Seton Hall- knock off the #15 team in the AP Poll, on the road, in one of the toughest environments in the nation, with a sputtering offense and a 4-game losing streak that has sapped the confidence of the young Pirates. Oh, and Buzz Williams' team is consistently one of the hardest-playing teams in the country. Best of luck!

Marquette's offensive numbers are impressive- they're 2nd in the Big East in scoring, 2nd in free throw percentage, 3rd in three-point percentage and 1st in assists. Their defensive numbers? Almost as good- 4th in field goal percentage defense, 3rd in steals, 3rd in turnover margin, and a respectable 8th in rebounding. Yeah, the Golden Eagles are damn good, and every bit deserving of their ranking so far.

Reigning Big East Player of the Week Darius Johnson-Odom has been unbelievable this season, ranking 2nd in the Big East in scoring and making nearly 40% of his shots from beyond the arc. He's a serious candidate for Big East Player of the Year, as he's not just a one-dimensional scorer, but a guy who can do everything you need him to on the court.

The other big name for Marquette is Jae Crowder, who's having a phenomenal year- 16.4 PTS, 7.4 REB, 2 AST, 2.3 STL (3rd in the Big East) and 1 BLK with 50% shooting from the field, 40% from deep and 70% from the free throw line. He's probably the most underrated player in the nation if I had to venture a guess, and he always plays hard. With Chris Otule out for the year and Jimmy Butler gone to the NBA, Crowder has stepped his game up in a BIG way.

Other consistent weapons for the Golden Eagles include Junior Cadougan (who makes sure the offense runs smoothly as a true point guard), Davante Gardner (a remarkably skilled big for his considerable girth who's stepped in to fill Otule's shoes), Todd Mayo (a frosh who reminds you of his brother, O.J.- instant offense off the bench), Vander Blue (an athletic guard who can run and fill in the gaps who's also recovered from a horrid year last season), and Jamil Wilson (an Oregon transfer who's been very good off the bench backing up Crowder and Gardner as an athletic big man).

They play hard, they have a huge home crowd for every game, their coach coaches so hard his dry cleaning bill has to be through the roof, and they're just plain damn good. No one said this would be easy, but if you want this writer's opinion, beating Marquette is necessary for the Pirates' resume.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They make threes. The Pirates hit 11 threes in the first half in their last meeting with the Golden Eagles on Senior Day at Prudential Center last year. Seton Hall's three-point shooting is key to their success, especially because since they started struggling (and since teams started zoning them up to force them to make the shots), they haven't been the same. Fuquan Edwin and Aaron Cosby, as well as Haralds Karlis, have to be ready to hunt for openings to shoot, and from that, be ready to shoot when open. The confidence will go up when they see some shots from range drop through the net. The "shooters' mentality" is characterized by the confidence that even despite misses, you think the next one will go in. The Pirates' wings need some of that right now.

- They match Marquette's intensity. Pretty self-explanatory. Even though they're coming off an ugly win against Villanova, if you think Marquette will overlook Seton Hall in this game, you're fooling yourself. The Pirates first and foremost have to match Marquette's internal, inherent hustle and toughness. Otherwise, they have no shot.

Marquette will win if:

- Crowder and DJO make their shots. They've been efficient all year long, and the offense revolves around their scoring. If they can keep their respective paces up in their shot-making, that will be key for the Golden Eagles against a defense that rarely leaves an opponent completely comfortable.

- Davante Gardner has his way. Last season, when the Pirates ventured out to Milwaukee, Gardner came off the Marquette bench and surprised everyone with 7 PTS and 6 REB in just 11 minutes. Seton Hall has no real answer for that kind of size, so if Gardner has his way, he'll weed out the less-bulky Pirates in his way.

It's official.

The Pirates' losing streak has gone from bad to painful-to-watch. The second half run was encouraging to see, but only a little. The game was decided in the first 10 minutes, when Seton Hall fell behind big right out of the gate to the Cardinals AGAIN.

Here are the 5 thoughts from another disappointing loss:

- Dead on Arrival

Seton Hall fell behind right from the get-go by a score of 15-4 in the first 10 minutes of the game. I thought that since the Pirates were at home, that the crowd would buoy them to victory. I maintain this would have happened, had the crowd gotten into it in the first place. I'm not saying the crowd wasn't pumped up, because they definitely were. Every mini-run the Pirates made, you could sense the crowd was waiting to explode. But it never happened. The fans wanted so much to cheer the team on vigorously from the outset. But the opening run disallowed that. It set the tone for the rest of the night.

Could you imagine if that late-game run could have meant more than just another empty run? It could have had the Pirates not fallen behind so big so early.

- "When You Think, You Stink"

That's a mantra my high school hoops coach used every day. Seton Hall could use a dose of it.

I don't know whether the losses to USF, Villanova and Notre Dame really rattled this team, or whether it's something else. But everyone (including the two seniors) is a step slow on offense right now because they're thinking too much. Coach Willard confirmed this in the postgame press conference, and it showed on the court. the wings aren't ready to shoot like they were earlier in the year, and the offense lacks flow in general. This is a very real issue that isn't easily correctable by any other means other than making shots. Seton Hall won't snap out of this unless that happens.

- Layups

It's the easiest shot in the entire game. And Seton Hall missed boatloads of them. There was a time in the second half that the Pirates pulled within nine. They got SEVEN straight defensive stops, but could not score because (mainly) of 3 missed layups. In fact, Seton Hall, according to ESPN's play-by-play, missed EIGHTEEN layups last night.

I wish I could go out there on the court and make the layups, but I can't. Just the latest in a series of various types of offensive futility since it broke down on the side of the road in Tampa.

- Too Little, Too Late

The Pirates did make a late run at the game, using a trapping press of all things and a man-to-man defense to force turnovers from the Cardinals, which the Pirates turned into points. They did this so well, in fact, that they cut the lead to just 4 (55-51) before free throws put the game out of reach in the last minute. Coach Willard said he was encouraged by the late run, and since I'd never seen the Pirates play either a man defense or press as well as they did last night. Honestly, that's the one thing to be able to take away from last night.

- Desperation

That's where Seton Hall is at this point. They have good wins over Dayton, West Virginia, and UConn. They also have a horrid loss to Villanova, a likely-to-be-worse-by-the-end-of-the-year loss to USF, and two losses that are wild cards in Notre Dame and Louisville. Heck, the UConn win isn't even a sure thing considering how the Huskies are playing. They are no longer in position to make the tournament, and here's why.

People keep saying that 20 wins (and therefore 5 more in conference play) will get them in. Fine, sure. WHERE ARE THE FIVE WINS? You can't tell me five sure wins at this point in the season. Rutgers? Only the home game is even remotely "sure." DePaul on the road? Ok, I can see that. St. John's or Pitt? Maybe. There are no others.

Rutgers is always tough at home, UConn and Marquette are looking like automatic losses right now based on the way the team has played (and those are the next two games? Goody...), at Cincinnati and home to Georgetown are looking similar.

I maintain that Seton Hall needs a big road win. With Cincinnati getting no love even when they're playing well, and thus leaving that game as a wild-card game, that leaves the next two games (and you know what? Probably only the next one following another UConn loss), especially Marquette, to get it done. You don't win either of those, in my opinion, and this team won't make the tournament. They won't have any quality road wins in-conference, and as everyone knows, the Committee, in sorting out who deserves to make it and who doesn't, looks for any holes in the resumes of various teams to distinguish one from the others. In a year where the Big East is eating itself alive even more than usual, the possible true quality wins are fewer than ever, and the next game in particular is the only remaining chance where you KNOW that it will stand as a quality win at the end of the year.

The road win is needed in the next two games also because the team needs a roster-wide shot of confidence, and in a big way. Going to either Milwaukee or Hartford and getting a W would do this.

I said the USF loss was bad because of how it happened as much as who it happened to. I said that needed to be nipped in the bud right away. It didn't happen, and now it's doing what I said it could do- fester into an extended losing streak that has a very real shot of breaking the Pirates' season after a 15-2 start. If both of the next two games end up in losses, you can push the panic button.

You like family affairs?

Well then what better way to follow up the Notre Dame debacle than with a visit from Kevin Willard's longtime mentor in a game that's absolutely huge for both teams?

Here's the rundown on Rick Pitino and the Cardinals:

Louisville

2011-12 record: 16-5 (4-4 Big East)

All-time series record: 5-9

Last meeting: 1/3/11 (73-54 SHU L)

It's ironic that Louisville comes to town tonight following the horrific offensive night on Wednesday because the last time I can remember the Pirates having that bad of an offensive night, it was their last meeting with Louisville, at the KFC Yum! Center, when they fell behind 24-2 after the first 10 minutes of the game and were basically cooked despite the long amount of time they had to come back from that. In that game, they didn't score in the first 6 minutes of the game. Their shooting percentage? 29% (compared to 26% vs ND on Wednesday).

Last year's Cardinals were a surprising team- Peyton Siva and Preston Knowles were able to make Louisville surpass many people's expectations and ramp the tempo up to break-neck speeds, overcoming a perceived (at least in the preseason) lack of talent to overachieve. This season has sort of been the opposite. The Cardinals were picked 3rd in the conference's preseason poll, but struggled mightily after opening 12-0, losing 4 out of 5 to wrap around the new year, including a home loss to the Irish and a blowout loss at Providence.

That caused the Cards, ranked as high as 4th in the country earlier this year, to nearly drop out of the polls, receiving votes in the AP Poll and tied for 25th in the Coaches' Poll. The reason that Louisville has had a bit of a disappointing season so far is mainly due to their offense. Usually, you never see a Rick Pitino-coached team struggle like this to score the ball, but the Cards are shooting just 43% from the field as a team, including 32% from beyond the arc (which would be the worst mark ever by a Pitino-coached team if the season ended today). Their defense is as good as it ever was, ranking 2nd in the Big East in both FG% defense and steals (the Cards rank 6th and 4th in the nation in those categories, respectively), while ranking 4th in the conference in rebounding and 5th in scoring defense.

Offensively, the Cardinals' offensive struggles can best be summed up in electric volume scoring guard Russ Smith. Hampered by injuries last season, Smith has emerged this season, averaging over 12 PTS and ranking 2nd to Fuquan Edwin in the Big East in STL. He's also shooting just 38% while taking the most shots on the team so far, including a 31% mark from deep. Smith is a player that can take (and make from time to time) some truly heinous shots. He's extremely quick and once he gets on a roll, look out because that roll can last pretty long to where he'll hit 5-6 shots in a row.

Other weapons at Pitino's disposal are the ever-so-efficient sharpshooter Kyle Kuric (who's been on the floor for 40 minutes per game in Big East play and who leads the Cards in scoring at 13.5 PTS), another knockdown perimeter shooter in Chris Smith (who's a NJ-native and St. Benedict's Prep grad, by the way), and two post players with bright futures and pretty darn good presents in the strong freshman Chane Behanan and the much-improved Gorgui Dieng. Behanan has been great on the boards all year long, using his strength to get his way down low. Dieng was a raw shot-blocker type a year ago, but this year, he's developed the nice beginnings of a post-up game, while still being as good as ever on the boards (9.5 per game, 3rd in the conference behind Kevin Jones and Herb Pope), and blocking shots (leading the conference with 3.3 per contest).

Peyton Siva, a preseason All-Big East Second Team selection, hasn't performed up to that level mainly because he's struggled mightily with his shot (36% from the field, 17% from deep). But he's still making plays for others (5.8 AST) and getting his steals on defense (2.1 per game, 6th in the conference) while remaining a great athlete out on the court.

The other story of the year besides the offense struggling to pick up the defense at times has been the litany of injuries that have besieged this team since Day 1. The only player to play in and start ever single game is Dieng. Nearly every other rotation player has missed time with one injury after another, including Rakeem Buckles and Mike Marra, both lost for the year with torn ACLs. McDonald's All-American guard Wayne Blackshear hasn't even suited up yet because of a shoulder injury sustained in a preseason practice. Behanan and Chris Smith have played in every game, but due to the offensive struggles and injuries, they haven't started every game.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They get their leadership mojo back

The leadership has been a little lacking lately, and that has led to "too much 'I' and not enough 'We'" according to Coach Willard. Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope are the keys to putting that ugly Notre Dame loss (plus the two before it) out of the collective minds of the team. They have to step up and lead, especially tonight, where they'll be facing a team that is very similar to Seton Hall in terms of style of play. Which leads me to this next point...

- They beat the Cards at their own game

Kevin Willard was a Rick Pitino disciple from the late 90s with the Boston Celtics all the way up until his hiring at Iona in 2006. Watching the Pirates, you definitely see the influences in terms of style of play. Both teams are great defensively and have guys who can get into passing lanes and create turnovers. Both teams shoot a lot of threes, and have multiple guys to do it with. Both teams love to capitalize off of turnovers and thrive when that statistic is crookedly in their favor. If the Pirates do those things better than the Cardinals, they should have a wonderful shot to break this losing streak and get some confidence heading into their toughest stretch of the year on the road.

Louisville will win if:

- They make enough shots

The Pirates' D has been strong all year, and the Cards have struggled to consistently make shots. Though that may seem tougher to do against a tough defense, the advantage that Louisville has (and really that both teams have) is that they play almost the same base defense. Advantage? I honestly have no idea. But if the Cardinals have a good day shooting the ball, that will put untold amounts of pressure on the sliding Pirates to match it under pain of losing 4 in a row heading out to Marquette, UConn and Rutgers.

- Chane Behanan plays well

As the Pirate fans out there know, and as I've been saying the entire season, when you have two post players playing well at the same time, it makes it tough on opposing front lines. I think Dieng will get his. Behanan has been on a roll, averaging 14 PTS and 8 REB in his last three games, and if he and Dieng are both playing well, it will make it tough on the Seton Hall bigs. Freshmen on the road are almost always wild cards in terms of their level of play, and the Cardinals hope that wild card turns up aces for them tonight.

This game is ENORMOUS. I really cannot overstate that fact. It's enormous because of the standings (the winner will remain above .500 in the conference and move ahead of the other in the standings; the teams are currently ranked 9th and 10th in the Big East). It's enormous for the Pirates because if they go on that three-game road stretch having lost 4 in a row it could easily continue to snowball to 6 or 7 in a row. It's enormous for the Cardinals because they need to continue to climb the standings after a really rough start to conference play. And did I mention the similarity in style of play and the relationship of the coaches?

This game represents a crossroads game for both teams. Win, and your fanbase gets some confidence. Lose, and your fanbase goes back to the drawing board again. I'll be on the call for WSOU. Who wants it more? We'll find out tonight.

Because I was down in Tampa, Florida during the majority of this game, I could not watch it live. All I saw was about 8 minutes of the second half. All I knew about was the box score. I figured this was going to be a brutal write-up- how in the world could a game that set the mark for lowest points scored in the Kevin Willard era have anything positive in it whatsoever? I was set to type in all-CAPS a lot.

But when I watched it, I wasn't as mad anymore. The tape wasn't pretty, but it wasn't as ugly as I anticipated.

Here are the Thoughts:

- Big D

Let's start with a positive- the defense, especially in the first half, was TREMENDOUS. This couldn't have been at the forefront of many Pirate fans' minds given that the offense couldn't get anything to drop through the net. But looking at the tape I was super-impressed by the defense. They were rotating fantastically in their zone, swarming the ball when it got into the paint, and playing with great effort to try and knock the Irish out of a semblance of offensive rhythm. The post defense was very good, the perimeter defense nearly matched it.

Unfortunately for Seton Hall (and you may not want to hear this), the Irish defense was also better than I thought it would be. Yes, the Pirates couldn't buy a bucket, but the sheer extreme in which that happened overshadowed what was a very good defensive performance by the Irish's standards. They didn't make life easy for Herb Pope or anyone down on the block, negating to some effect the inside-outside movement the Pirates wanted to get.

If you like defense, like me, you LOVED that first half. If you like offense, you probably averted your eyes after the opening 4 minutes (score: 0-0).

Also unfortunately for the Pirates, though, the first half was played at the Irish's pace. Notre Dame couldn't get any threes to drop so they could create separation, and neither could Seton Hall. Which brings me to....

- Turtle Basketball

That's the pace Notre Dame likes to play at. They take care of the ball, and did so again last night, while waiting for the defense to get impatient, whereby they make good passes and get a good shot off. Well, the Pirate defense was tremendous for the first half and the beginning of the second half. Then the Irish hit a couple threes, which created separation while Seton Hall continued to struggle to put the ball in the basket.

The burn offense was more of a slow crock-pot type gameplan. And the Pirates got slow-cooked like a Sunday roast.

- Pope's Woes

They continued in a big way on Wednesday night. The numbers were not pretty- 2-16 on FG, 5 PTS, 5 fouls, and only 7 REB. He's not been himself ever since Big East play began, and really ever since Dayton, when teams started doubling him. This time, he wasn't necessarily doubled that much, but he was WAY off on his first three attempts and his subsequent shots just would not go down. Just one of those nights for Pope, who was clearly annoyed by the time he finally scored a bucket.

- Donut Offense

This has two meanings. One, the scoring and shot-making was clearly lacking, but the looks were almost all good ones, even Pope's myriad of misses. Nothing was really forced by Seton Hall, and Jordan Theodore was under control this time (in fact, a little too under control- we'll touch on that next).

Second, there was almost no effort to get the ball inside to Pope in the second half. The offense came out of the locker room still unable to purchase some points, and that wore on this team, as the offense devolved into pick-and-roll sets almost exclusively. That's not Seton Hall Basketball.

- State of the Pirates

Since the State of the Union was this past week, I think now is as good a time as ever to do a "State of the Pirates."

The main reason that Seton Hall got off on a roll was the leadership of Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope. And that's been the reason for the three-game slide. Pope dominated the shorter front lines of early season opponents and put up some monster lines, while Theodore was a leader and floor general who was glad to defer to his teammates. Pope's production went down hill as the conference season got started, but the Pirates stayed afloat because Theodore upped his game. The last three games, neither guy has played well, with Pope continuing to backslide offensively and Theodore either trying too hard (USF, Villanova) or not enough (Notre Dame).

The Pirates cannot afford off-games from both players. Aaron Cosby has been phenomenal as a shooter, as has Fuquan Edwin with his multi-faceted game. The reserves compete, and that's what you need from your bench. Patrik Auda's skill set makes him very valuable when on the court, but he can't stay there long enough to be a factor. The defense (as expected) keeps them in every game thanks to the complex nature of said defense.

This team is at a crossroads heading into Saturday's primetime matchup with Louisville. Both teams are 4-4 in Big East play. The Cardinals (16-5) play like the Pirates (15-5) and vice-versa due to the fact that Kevin Willard was a disciple of Rick Pitino. The Pirates are sliding, while Louisville has gotten back on track following a rough start to their conference slate. In order to triumph against a team so similar in style, the Pirates need to have Pope and Theodore lead like they did before. Also, they need to keep Pope involved down low. Running the offense through his touches in the post worked wonderfully earlier this season, and the lack of paint touches was stark on Wednesday night. It's not easy against enhanced competition, but no one ever said it would be easy.

Bottom line- this team started 15-2 on the year, making visions of a return to the postseason dance through the heads of every fan who bleeds Pirate blue and white. They need this game if they're going to have a realistic strong shot of doing that. It is a must-win in almost every sense of the word in that regard. With a 3-game road trip after this coming up on the schedule, with all three sites possessing tough environments, words cannot express how big this game is in the big picture of the season. I'm calling this one for WSOU, and I've got those big-game broadcast jitters even as I'm writing this piece.

A full preview of the game will be up tomorrow morning here on South Orange Juice

This week is huge for the Pirates.

I'm not saying it will necessarily make or break their season, but often in Big East play, one loss can easily turn into two, which turns into four, etc... I said last week that Seton Hall needed to nip the lack of team play that marked the end of the USF game in the bud on the Main Line. It didn't happen. As a result, the Pirates are coming off their worst loss of the year, while Notre Dame is coming off one of the biggest wins of the year by any team, knocking off #1 Syracuse in South Bend. Seton Hall hasn't lost at home yet this season, and if they want to keep the two losses from snowballing into something that could make/break the expectations of many for this season, this game and the game on Saturday are paramount in their importance.

Here's what you need to know about Notre Dame:

Notre Dame

2011-12 record: 12-8 (4-3 Big East)

All-time series record: 8-17

Last meeting: 2/26/12 (60-48 SHU L)

Right away, you'll notice that the Irish's record in-conference is the same as Seton Hall's, in case you were wondering if there was another reason this game is big. Also, you'll notice the absence of Tim Abromaitis, a preseason First Team All-Big East player who is out for the year with a torn ACL. The last time the Irish came to the Rock, Luke Harangody came down awkwardly and ended up being lost for a few weeks after that. When he went down, Mike Brey (who really doesn't get enough credit for the coaching jobs he's done the last few years) slowed down the tempo, switching to the "burn" offense you may have heard of.

It's the same thing this time around with no Abromaitis. The burn offense seeks to minimize possessions, putting a greater emphasis on execution and shot-making, and for a team missing its best offensive weapon by far, it's been successful. The statistical numbers are like the record for Notre Dame- average in most every category. They are a team that historically is an offensive-minded team that shoots the three well, but they're 13th in scoring and 3-point percentage this year.

The Irish aren't talentless, though. Eric Atkins leads the team in scoring and he's a quick guard out there on the court to whom attention needs to be paid. Jack Cooley (who resembles Harangody almost to a T in physical appearance) is a wide-bodied, strong center who's having a very good year in his first year as a starter. Scott Martin was a big shot-maker for Mike Brey last season, but this year, he's struggling mightily with his outside jumper. Alex Dragicevich and Pat Connaughton (the lone true frosh on this team) are capable shot-makers. Connaughton is a deceptive athlete as well.

The most intriguing player the Irish have is Jerian Grant. He missed last year with an injury, but he's having a very quiet great year. He's right behind Atkins in scoring, hitting 37% from beyond the arc, and leads the team in free throw shooting and (despite standing 6'6") assists as well. He also doesn't turn the ball over, possessing an AST/TO ratio of nearly 3:1.

Against Syracuse, Notre Dame played their best possible game, knocking down their threes with regularity (sort of like the Pirates did to the Orange last season at the Carrier Dome) while holding the then-top team in the nation to a low shooting percentage. I don't think you'll see that performance again from the Irish, but it shows that anyone can beat anyone in the Big East this year. Seton Hall will need to bring their effort because the Irish certainly will.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They enjoy some home cooking. The Pirates are undefeated at home this season, and Notre Dame has always been a markedly different team on the road than they are at home; in South Bend, the Irish are very tough to beat, but on the road, they just seem to play differently. Coming back home (and having a week to prep) is exactly what the Pirates needed following a loss like Villanova was, and if things hold true to form for both teams, Seton Hall should win.

- They come out swinging. Notre Dame is a finesse team, reliant on their shooting touch and pace to out-execute opposing teams. What Rutgers did earlier this season was they came out with a bunch of energy that threw Notre Dame off their rhythm right away. Seton Hall surprised DePaul in this fashion, and if they can do it again, it will benefit their game.

Notre Dame will win if:

- They win the battle behind the arc. The Irish are 13th in the conference in three-point percentage, and 10th in three-point percentage defense. Seton Hall meanwhile leads the conference in three-point percentage and are second in three-point percentage defense. The numbers don't lie- if the Irish can make shots from out beyond the arc, and/or guard against the Pirate shooters, it will be a big stat in the game.

- They take care of the ball. Notre Dame's pace emphasizes possession. By default, that includes not turning the ball over. They didn't do a good job of that against Syracuse, but they generally take care of the ball. Seton Hall has an affinity for forcing steals, so if the Irish want to win, they'd better not turn the ball over 17 times again.

I honestly cannot believe my eyes.

This team started 15-2?! You wouldn't know it after tonight's extremely poor performance on the Main Line. It's their worst loss of the year, and the worst they've looked since Syracuse.

A late flurry didn't matter one iota. This game was sealed far before that.

Here are the 5 Thoughts. They are not for the faint of heart:

- Leadership??

Non-existent tonight. I don't recall a worse game that I've seen out of Jordan Theodore. He forced enough shots to choke and army of horses to death. The kick-out passes were there EVERY SINGLE TIME he took the ball into the paint on the drive, yet time and time again Theodore drove the ball blindly into the defense. He couldn't get around his man on defense, but instead of running solid offense, he tried some fancy dribbling that had no purpose whatsoever except to get Theodore riled up enough so that he would force a wild shot. The difference in the last two games has been Theodore- he's not making plays for others nearly as much. He's tried to be Kemba Walker and he just plain isn't that type of player. Two games in a row this has happened. Trying to lead a young team is one thing, but trying to do everything yourself is another thing altogether.

Coach Willard said that he had talked with Jordan following the USF game and that Jordan was prepared to put that game behind him. Yeah, that didn't happen. Not by a long, forced, unnecessary shot.

- Shooting???

It picked up in the second half, as more open shots were made. But the collective effort from the perimeter in the first half was putrid. Villanova's defensive gameplan was to pack the paint on all drives. That left countless kick-out opportunities. Those were made by the Pirates when they were denied passage into the lane. The shots were not falling at all. They were wide open, but none were dropping. They dropped in the second half. I really cannot fault the Pirates for continuing to shoot the ball, because the makes were bound to come with all the open looks they got. But this game would have been different if some of those shots dropped.

- Foul Issues

Surely the gameplan was not to allow the Wildcats to get to the line FORTY ONE TIMES. Surely the gameplan wasn't to hand the best free throw shooting team in the entire conference nearly 35 free points. There were a number of bad calls by the officials, but Seton Hall put the Wildcats on the line way too much. JayVaughn Pinkston shot more free throws than the Pirates did. There's your main difference in the game, score-wise. The Wildcats got 27 of their 47 second-half points from the free throw line. Try and comprehend that for a second. The defense was great for Seton Hall in the second half. But they fouled too much. And these were not effort fouls- the majority were dumb fouls, such as not playing straight up and down on help defense, not moving your feet instead of reaching in, and other things that my high school coach would have benched the star player for doing.

- Mob Rush

Thank goodness for Brandon Mobley. The freshman forward has been huge off the bench ever since he returned from his injury. He hit all three of his triples in the first half (the rest of the team was 0-14), the biggest reason the score was as close as it was at the half. He scored 12 PTS off the bench and it gave the Pirates a lift they really needed. Quite honestly, if Patrik Auda can't demonstrate that he can play the first 10 minutes of the ballgame without fouling, Mobley's played well enough to be able to start.

- Disturbing Trend

The team, and specifically Theodore, isn't playing well at all. Old habits are starting to resurface with the point guard, and they are spreading to the rest of the team through the scoreboard and the results. I said that USF was a bad loss because of how the loss occurred as much as to whom it occurred. I also said that because of the last 6 minutes against the Bulls, this game needed to be the one the team bounced back in, to get the way they played out that game in Tampa as far out of their minds as possible. It didn't happen.

Now there is a full week off between games for the coaching staff to re-focus the team on doing what made them great. Not just good, great. The next two home games are of paramount importance. Notre Dame and Louisville are teams that the Pirates can definitely beat in Newark. The ship needs to be righted, and fast. Sure, the record still says 15-4. But the season doesn't end today.

Hello Pirates! It's time for yet another game preview. Except this isn't any ordinary preview. This one is SUPER-SIZED, with a 5-question Q&A with Philahoops.com writer Aaron Bracy. You can find that segment after the jump.

Until then, feast on a scouting report!

Villanova

2011-12 record: 8-10 (1-5 Big East)

All-time series record: 37-63

Last meeting: 2/15/11 (60-57 SHU L)

This year has been a year of firsts for the Pirates- first time they'd started 15-2 since 1992-93, first win over West Virginia in nearly 6 years, first win over UConn in nearly 11 years.

They now will look to get their first win over Villanova in nearly 8 years, having lost 9 straight games to Jay Wright's club in that time span, started by a really tough loss at MSG in the 2004 Big East Tournament. They also haven't beaten Villanova at The Pavilion in nearly 18 years (!). The Pirates will look to end those various streaks tonight.

And if there was ever a year to end that losing skid, now the longest active skid to any team for Seton Hall, this would be it. The Wildcats have struggled mightily this season, with a very young team- they have no scholarship seniors. After losing Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Antonio Pena, the Wildcats figured to take a step back anyway.

What they could not have figured is their shooting struggles. Villanova's shooting just 42% as a team, ranking 15th in the Big East, and they couple it with 31% three-point shooting, also among the worst in the conference. They are the best free throw shooting team in the conference, though.

Defensively, the Wildcats are ahead of only DePaul in scoring defense, and are in the bottom half of the conference in 3-point percentage defense, so they've struggled from that perspective as well, although they lead the conference in rebounding.

What the Wildcats do have is depth, especially in the backcourt. Maalik Wayns leads the way for 'Nova, and he's a slashing point guard who looks to make plays off the dribble. He's also outstandingly quick, so he's one to keep an eye on. The matchup between Wayns and Jordan Theodore will be a great one.

Joining Wayns in the backcourt are Dominic Cheek, a scorer from St. Anthony's that has struggled shooting this season, Darrun Hilliard, a tough guard who's been a nice surprise for the Wildcats, and James Bell, a well-built player that has been very quiet this season. Achraf Yacoubou and Ty Johnson round out the rotation.

In the frontcourt, the star is Mouphtaou Yarou, a skilled post player with nice touch and a nose for the ball on rebounds. He can also block shots down low. Joining him are two freshmen in JayVaughn Pinkston and Markus Kennedy. Pinkston didn't play last year, and it shows- he's a skilled player, but he's been inconsistent after a year away from game action. Kennedy is a space-eater in the lane with his wide frame and deceptive touch near the hoop.

The Wildcats are always tough at The Pavilion, and this game will be no different. But this time, the Hall should win this game. They are coming off a stinging loss a la the one against Syracuse, but that bounceback happened at home. Seton Hall needs to avoid a letdown to the 'Cats this time.

Seton Hall will win if:

- They make threes. Villanova has struggled in defending the perimeter this year, as you will read in my Q&A with Aaron Barcy below, and that includes defending the three point shot. Seton Hall just so happens to be the best three point shooting team in the entire conference. If they can make the threes on the road, this one should turn out in their favor.

- They keep possessions alive. With offensive rebounds, I mean. Both teams are among the top three (SHU is 1st, VU 3rd) in defensive rebounding percentage, a stat that measures what percentage of the time a team successfully rebounds its opponents' misses. If Seton Hall can keep possessions alive on the glass, I like their chances against Nova.

Villanova will win if:

- They continue to play well. The overall record and Big East record aren't pretty, but the Wildcats have been playing better lately than the beginning of the season. Wayns dropped a career-best 39 PTS in a loss to Cincinnati by just 4 on the road, and they'll be playing at home in front of what should be a nice crowd for their long-time rivals (this is the 101st meeting between the two schools). Momentum, as I've said before, is a tricky thing, and if the Wildcats can get it and keep it, they'll have an excellent shot to knock off the Pirates

- They take care of the ball. Villanova's perimeter play has been inconsistent, and they have not done well in terms of the Big East in the turnover department. Seton Hall's defense is a huge challenge to prepare for, and with Fuquan Edwin lurking around every corner (or almost every corner), and an affinity for capitalizing off opponent's mistakes, ball control will be very key for Villanova.

Check out my Q&A with Aaron Bracy of Philahoops.com after the jump!

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