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The Seton Hall Pirates are aiming for their first season sweep of the Xavier Musketeers since the first year they joined the Big East Conference.
The Pirates will take aim at the Musketeers on Wednesday night at The Rock in Newark, New Jersey. This is a pivotal game for Seton Hall as they look to stay in the hunt for a bid in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. They are already off on the right foot lately, having won four of their last five including their last three in a row. That stretch includes a sweep of the Creighton Bluejays and a win over the Georgetown Hoyas. And while Xavier won’t be a “quality win,” it’s a game they certainly have to have to stay in contention.
Xavier would love to play spoiler in this matchup. The Musketeers just did so in their last game against the Providence Friars over the weekend. On that day, we saw them win 75-61 at The Dunk in a game that was ugly at first but ended crisply for Travis Steele’s squad. It’s been a season to forget but at 13-13 and 5-8 in Big East play, they’re now looking to spoil the fun for others, and can certainly do that to Seton Hall on Wednesday night.
The Musketeers have typically dominated this series and the fact that Seton Hall has a chance to sweep them is certainly different from how things have gone lately. It’s usually been a split, but Xavier was able to sweep SHU last season on their way to a share of the Big East regular season title. This go-around is different, as The Hall wants to sweep the Muskies for the first time since they entered the Big East in the 2013-14 season.
Myles Powell and Paul Scruggs will be the ones to watch in this game. In addition to that, you should probably keep your eye on Quincy McKnight. McKnight has been a terror defensively this season and will no doubt have his eyes on Scruggs and Quentin Goodin on Wednesday evening.
HOW TO WATCH
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: CBS Sports Network
ODDS
Spread: Seton Hall -5
Total: The O/U is set at 141/141.5.