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The new look and high touted Seton Hall Pirates are back and ready to take the next step after shocking the conference with their deep Big East Tournament run last year. However, the Pirates struggled at times during the regular season.
Here is what the Pirates will face in the 2014-15 Big East season:
| vs. St. John's Red Storm | Dec. 31, 2014 | Noon ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| vs. Villanova Wildcats | Jan. 3, 2015 | Noon ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| at Xavier Musketeers | Jan. 7, 2015 | 7/8 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network |
| at Creighton Bluejays | Jan. 10, 2015 | 2 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| vs. Butler Bulldogs | Jan. 13, 2015 | 7 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| vs. DePaul Blue Demons | Jan. 22, 2015 | 7 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| at Butler Bulldogs | Jan. 25, 2015 | 3 p.m. ET | FSN |
| at Marquette Golden Eagles | Jan. 28, 2015 | 7 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| vs. Xavier Musketeers | Jan. 31, 2015 | Noon ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| at DePaul Blue Demons | Feb. 3, 2015 | 9 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| vs. Marquette Golden Eagles | Feb. 7, 2015 | Noon ET | CBS Sports Network |
| vs. Georgetown Hoyas | Feb. 10, 2015 | 7 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| at Providence Friars | Feb. 14, 2015 | 4 p.m. ET | FSN |
| at Villanova Wildcats | Feb. 16, 2015 | 7 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| at St. John's Red Storm | Feb. 21, 2015 | 2:30 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| vs. Creighton Bluejays | Feb. 28, 2015 | 4 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network |
| vs. Providence Friars | Mar. 4, 2015 | 7 p.m. ET | FOX Sports 1 |
| at Georgetown Hoyas | Mar. 7, 2015 | Noon ET | FOX Sports 1 |
Schedule Analysis
When glancing at this schedule, the first point that comes to mind is that many teams have improved from last season including: Georgetown, Xavier, Villanova and of course Seton Hall. Matchups featuring those four teams will always be games to circle on your calendar. This year in conference, the Pirates start out on New Year's Eve and play in the first of five in a quintuple header on FOX Sports 1 just like last year. This time, however, they play their rivals from Queens, St. John's at the Prudential Center.
After that matchup, the schedule eases up a bit as the Hall take on teams like Butler and Creighton who look like they will struggle this year season. Towards the end of January and in the beginning of February is a time where Pirates need to capitalize. They will be facing teams like Marquette, DePaul and Butler that finished at the bottom half of the conference a year ago. At the end of February and into March the Pirates face more possible speed bumps on their schedule with games against Villanova, St. John's, and Providence before finishing the season with Georgetown.
The toughest stretch for the Pirates, without a doubt will be from February 10 through the end of the season. It starts with a big home game against Georgetown, who might be ranked by the time they play each other in Newark, NJ. Next, the Hall will play three straight road games against Providence, Villanova and then St. John's. It will likely be imperative for the Hall to win two of those three road games to meet the high expectations set out for by this team. The last three games also provide some possible stumbling blocks as the blue and white face Creighton in a possible trap game and then the Big East champion Providence Friars before finishing with a rematch against the Hoyas in Washington DC to wrap up the season. Luckily for Coach Willard, this will be toward the end of the season and the Pirates will have been tested plenty already in non-conference play.
With of that said, it is the Big East Conference, which means all of these games will be difficult for the Pirates and the teams they play. The benefit is that with a tough schedule could bring great preparation and a solid resume to Big East teams like the Hall who are trying to make it back to the NCAA Tournament this season.