The Pirates look to avoid a rare slump to open Big East play against the Bulldogs.
The shorthanded Seton Hall Pirates and the Butler Bulldogs are set for a Tuesday night tango. The Pirates are looking to avoid an 0-3 start in Big East play for the first time since the 2009-10 season. They’ve been undermanned of late thanks to COVID issues hitting the program very hard, and have lost to Providence and Villanova to open up shop.
Butler, meanwhile, is hoping to improve to 2-0 against conference opponents, having defeated DePaul in their last go-around. The Dawgs have gotten through their 3-3 start and have since won five of their last six entering play. Their only loss is to the touted Purdue Boilermakers, and there’s not too much shame in losing to them this year.
How to watch or stream
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: CBSSN
Streaming: CBSSports.com
Line: Seton Hall -3.5
Total: 131
Obviously, a lot of this game will hinge on who’s available for Seton Hall. They had just seven players see the floor in their loss to Villanova. Among those not available for the last game were junior Tyrese Samuel and Ike Obiagu. Their lack of presence has been felt in their defeats and if they remain unavailable then they could be in for some trouble again.
That being said, although this is a road game, this still feels winnable for the Pirates. Butler’s offense, even throughout this winning stretch, remains pretty dreadful. It will be tough sledding for them also considering they face a Pirate defense that has been extremely strong all season. Especially so along the perimeter, where they’re giving up just 26.2 percent. That’s the ninth-lowest mark in the entire country.
This feels like it’s going to be a pretty low-scoring game. Neither offense is that potent or prodigious and both have had their struggles from deep. The biggest exploit I can see is Seton Hall’s interior offense versus Butler’s interior defense, which swings the way of the Pirates. Time’ll tell to see what happens here.