Seton Hall, Texas Set for ‘Battle’

Seton Hall, ranked 23rd, is 23-25 when ranked and facing another ranked team, including a 9-8 record at home. The Pirates are 17-6 against non-conference opponents when ranked since the start of the 2016-17 season.

Texas (+1400) was tied with Kansas for the best odds to win March Madness coming into the season.

Game: Texas Longhorns (6-1) at Seton Hall Pirates (7-1)
Location: Prudential Center
Day/Time: Thursday, 6:30 p.m. ET
Television: FS1

Betting Lines

All Hands on Deck for Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns are getting contributions from a variety of players. Six different players have been the Longhorns’ leading scorer and six are averaging between 8.9-13.3 points per game.

Five different players have attempted between 50-56 field goals and there has been a timeshare when it comes to setting up teammates.

Nine players average more than 10 minutes per game and three have more than twice as many assists as turnovers while six players already have more than 10 assists

“Our biggest thing is our guys are competing defensively, who gets the most rebounds, most steals,” said Andrew Jones, who leads the Longhorns with 11 three-pointers and 15 steals. “That is the biggest thing we are competing on. We aren’t necessarily worried about offense.”

Texas leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing only 55.3 points per game. They also turn the defense into offense with a 121-44 advantage in points off turnovers.

Timmy Allen, who has been the team leader or tied for the team lead in scoring three times, leads the Longhorns in scoring with at 13.3 points per game. Tre Mitchell and Courtney Ramey add 10.1 points per game, Jones (9.7), Christian Bishop (9.4) and Marcus Carr (8.9) are other key offensive players.

Texas has won five games in a row since its lone loss of the season at Gonzaga. Seton Hall figures to pose more of a challenge than Northern Colorado, San Jose State, California Baptist, Sam Houston or UTRGV did.

Texas was listed by the sportsbook as more than 20-point favorites in each of the five games and the one-point spread is the smallest of the season for the Longhorns.

Points Aplenty in Tuneup for Pirates

The Seton Hall offense certainly looked like it is ready to face the challenge of squaring off with Texas by putting up 113 points in a win over Nyack the last time out.

Jamir Harris, Tyrese Samuel and Tray Jackson came off the bench to score 23, 22 and 21 points, respectively. Every player who attempted at least one field goal shot at least 50 percent from the field.

“I think it is going to be a great experience for these guys,” said Seton Hall forward Jared Rhoden, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win. “It was good for these guys to get comfortable and get aggressive and confident. It is good leading up to Texas.”

WEAR BLUE: No. 23 Seton Hall Set For BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle With No. 7 Texas At The Rock https://t.co/3nh1mdud7T

— Seton Hall (@SetonHall) December 8, 2021

Another bonus was the return of Myles Cale to the lineup after missing the previous three games. Cale had 12 points against Nyack.

“It is almost like perfect timing,” Cale said. “We are going to have three good practices going into this week so we will have enough time to really prepare for Texas and prepare for Rutgers for the next game.”

Head coach Kevin Willard will tie P.J. Carlesimo for second place on Seton Hall’s list for career wins with his next victory. Carlesimo won 212 games for the Pirates while Willard is currently at 211.

Seton Hall is 7-1 and 5-0 at home. It is the program’s best start since the 2017-18 season.

The biggest win of the season was a 67-65 victory at then-No. 4 Michigan. The Pirates almost added another win over a Big Ten powerhouse six days later before falling to Ohio State 79-76 for its only loss .

The last three Seton Hall games all went over the scores and odds total as the Pirates topped the 80-point mark in each game.

Looking to Stay Perfect at Home

The Seton Hall Pirates are 5-0 at home and have covered against the college basketball spreads in each of those games.

Pick: Under 133½

Pick: Texas Longhorns -1