Seton Hall, on verge of locking up Big East tourney bye, meets Xavier

Still smarting from a tough loss at UConn, Seton Hall is in Cincinnati on Tuesday night to take on Xavier in a Big East battle.

The Pirates (19-10, 9-9 Big East) missed a vital opportunity to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resume Saturday. They led the Huskies by as much as eight points in the second half but lost 71-67.

Much of the talk after the game centered on the Huskies' 21-2 advantage in free-throw attempts in the second half.

Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway called the disparity "crazy" in his postgame radio show remarks and said it made him even sicker while already dealing with the flu.

"Man, man, man, unbelievable opportunity we let slip by," Holloway said. "I want to give my guys credit. I wasn't really around the whole week because I was dealing with the flu. Guys came out and competed in a hostile environment like this."

The Pirates need one win in their last two Big East games to lock up a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.

The story for Seton Hall all season has been defense. Seton Hall ranks No. 1 in the Big East in points allowed (64.7). They are seventh in the nation in blocks per game (5.9) and eighth in steals (8.6), but offensively they rank last in the conference in scoring (70.3).

Seton Hall's best offensive half of the season came in the first meeting with Xavier. Down 11 at halftime, the Pirates outscored the Musketeers 56-27 in the second half, finishing with 27 points from Tajuan Simpkins and 24 from Adam "Budd" Clark.

Xavier (14-15, 6-12) ended a three-game losing streak Saturday with a 91-84 win over Georgetown. Xavier forward Tre Carroll leads the Big East in scoring at 18.6 points.

The Musketeers are looking at the 8/9 game on the first day of the Big East tournament.

"I don't really talk big picture with our guys," Xavier coach Richard Pitino said Saturday. "I say enjoy the rest and we get back (Sunday) and move on to Seton Hall. We started great (against them). We were ready to go at their place and they ramped up the pressure on us. Seton Hall is a great team. We got two left and we got Madison Square Garden after that. Let's see if we can get Tuesday."

--Field Level Media