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The Seton Hall Pirates have skidded out to a 1-3 start on the year. It hasn’t been ideal for the Pirates, who’ve eaten losses to the Louisville Cardinals, Rhode Island Rams and the Oregon Ducks. The lone win came against the Iona Gaels, but they obviously are bargaining for much more at this point. They’ll get the chance to right the ship a bit against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday evening.
The Nittany Lions have played two games thus far and won both of them. They defeated VMI and VCU, with both victories coming at the Bryce Jordan Center where the game will be played this evening. Seth Lundy has been tremendous, especially so against the Rams. He scored 32 points on just 19 shots, and went 5-for-10 from the 3-point line. Samuel Sessions has also been a great player off the bench. Sessions scored 12 and 17 points in the first two games of the year, providing a big spark for the Nittany Lions in the process.
Seton Hall is going to have to be careful when handling the ball. Penn State forced turnovers at a high rate in their first two games, 27.9 percent to be precise. They’ve been solid at handling the ball, with a TO% of just 19.7 percent this season. But Penn State can pick some pockets. One other facet of this game that will be intriguing will be along the perimeter. While the Pirates have struggled to rack up wins, their 3-point shooting has been great. They’ve shot 38.8 percent from deep, which ranks 39th in the nation. Penn State’s defense on the perimeter has been about average, so we’ll see if they’re going to be able to handle that barrage.
On the flipside, the Pirates have been poor at defending on the perimeter. They’ve allowed 37.8 percent of 3-pointers to be converted on them. With the D1 average standing at 32.6 percent at this point, that’s a pretty grim mark. PSU has been slightly below average, sitting at 32.3 percent from that area of the floor. But teams haven’t been shy about shooting from deep against the Pirates this season, so don’t be surprised if the Nittany Lions follow that playbook either.
How to Watch
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: BTN
Watch Online: BTN2Go
Odds
Spread: PSU -2.5
Total: 145.5
Moneyline: Seton Hall +115 | PSU -135