St. John’s hosts #18 Seton Hall Saturday Afternoon

Since their loss to Rutgers on December 14th, the Seton Hall Pirates have been firing on all cylinders. At the moment they are currently riding a seven game win streak which includes an excellent 5-0 start in Big East play. To top things off Myles Powell has returned not only returned to the starting lineup, but is playing at a National Player of the Year level for the Pirates.

During the midweek slate of conference games, Seton Hall pulled off a big upset in beating a fifth ranked Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse by a score of 78-70 and now the Pirates turn their attention to the weekend’s action as they take on the St. John’s Red Storm at Madison Square Garden.

Over the span of this win streak that Seton Hall has been, on they have been averaging around 72.7 points scored while opponents have been averaging around 61.0 points scored against them. Naturally the main focal point for the Pirates will be Myles Powell whose play especially with the absence of Sandro Mamukelashvili due to injury. In his last three games, Powell has been averaging in the area of 25.3 points per game and overall has been the motor for Pirates. Those last three games were against Xavier, Marquette, and Butler this past Wednesday which should also be noted for 29 point game posted by Powell against the Bulldogs. He is however not alone in this venture as Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill have been stepping up in recent games with Gill posting a 17 point game on Wednesday. In all the level of play from the Pirates has been raised in each passing game similar to a raising of the Jolly Roger.

On the St. John’s side of things, the Red Storm played a strong game against Providence on Wednesday but in the end fell short by a score of 63 to 58. In all it has been a mixed week for the Red Storm, last weekend saw them getting their first win in conference play against DePaul and then midweek saw a much stronger showing but once again may have to go back to the drawing board. Mustapha Heron still might not be fully back to strength but Rasheem Dunn once again slotted in nicely as the Red Storms best secondary option for scoring.

If St. John’s can find consistency in there offensive approach then they might have a shot in this game against the Pirates. That again might come down to who can fill in the secondary scoring roles behind L.J. Figueroa which at this point might be Dunn, though Greg Williams and Marcellus Earlington both had decent games against the Friars and might deserve another look. It could also benefit the Red Storm to take a slower approach on offense. Mike Anderson so far seems to favor lightning quick moves on the offensive side of the ball to get back on defense in order to quickly apply the press. While the transition can be quick maybe slowing things down for possession could be a means to get more on offense then to quickly switch back to defense.

Either way this should be a fun game at Madison Square Garden. St. John’s won the last game between these two programs and maybe then can get a little streak against the Pirates going after tomorrow.

How to watch

Time: 12:00 PM ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

TV: FOX (Check local listings)

Stream: Fox Sports Go