LINKS: Hoyas Head to Seton Hall

The Georgetown Hoyas will face the Seton Hall Pirates on Wednesday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The (expected) 8:30PM tip will be featured on FS1 after Providence at Villanova at 6:30PM.

Tuesday’s BIG EAST games of Marquette at DePaul (FSN) and Butler at St. John’s (CBSSN) appear to be preempted by the “143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show - Day 2” on FS1.

After losing four senior starters at the end of last season, Seton Hall is playing a little different basketball than prior years. And it hasn’t been all that consistent. Led by high-scoring guard Myles Powell, the “Hall” had a couple strong out-of-conference wins against Kentucky and Maryland. Winning only 2 of their last 7, Seton Hall appears to prefer a low-scoring game in the 60s. Now, at 5-6 with two losses to DePaul, Coach Kevin Willard is asking junior-transfer point guard Quincy McKnight and 6’8” senior forward Michael Nzei to share the load with scoring.

While Georgetown is coming off a tough home loss to the well-rested Butler Bulldogs, the Hoyas continue to collect weekly awards as the freshly buzzed Mac McClung was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. McClung and James Akinjo will likely be tasked with guarding Powell, but they will certainly have help in spells from New Jersey-native Jagan Mosely. Hoya-fans are expecting Jessie Govan to flourish with Seton Hall lacking a seasoned interior presence for the first time in several years. Let’s hope “Mamukelashvili” does not become a household name Wednesday night.

Here are the links:

3 THINGS ABOUT SETON HALL VS. GEORGETOWN WEDNESDAY | SHU Pirates

Tempo Will Be Key [] In conference play, Georgetown and Seton Hall are No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom. The Hoyas are at 72.1 possessions per BIG EAST game. They want to play fast and outscore you. The Pirates more want to play fast in transition after defending well. The Hall will want to slow Georgetown down and get the Hoyas into a grindfest much like it did with Creighton. The game with the Bluejays was a success; the Pirates held Creighton to a season-low 58 points. Georgetown’s season low is 52 points, but that came back on Nov. 16. Since then, the Hoyas’ season low in scoring is 65.

NB: “...as we battle both the Hoyas and Cancer” ... really?

Seton Hall basketball: As Georgetown visits, a heartfelt moment for Anthony Nelson | APP

[Keys:] Get Myles Powell going early. Waiting for the ace guard to catch fire late is not a reliable winning strategy. Powell needs to be engaged from the start, and that means setting sharper screens and good spacing to counter the double-teams that are coming. It also would help if someone else could hit a couple of 3-pointers...

The Hoyas are 4-3 on the road this season, with wins at Illinois, Butler, St. John’s and Providence. That’s surprising for such a youthful group.

College Basketball: Despite losing 4 seniors, Seton Hall exceeding expectations | NCAA.com

“These kids have never been in this situation before,” coach Kevin Willard, whose team has wins over nationally ranked Kentucky and Maryland. “They have never had this pressure before. This team wasn’t supposed to be here, and we’re not back yet to where we were playing. I have just tried to remind them of who were are and we have a long journey ahead and you can’t get down because some things don’t go your way.” ...

This year, the Pirates go as Powell goes. The junior is second in the conference in scoring with a 21.7 point average — six more than last season. He has scored in double figures in all but one game and has had four games of 30 or better, including 31 against Providence.

Pregame Primer: Men’s Basketball Clashes With Seton Hall On The Road | The Georgetown Voice

The Pirates’ defensive effort won them the game [against Creighton], as they held a conference opponent under 60 points for the first time this season. Their defense on Creighton’s season leading scorer, sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander, was especially impressive, holding him to just 3-of-14 from the field.

McClung and freshman guard James Akinjo will be tasked with containing Powell, with Pickett likely providing some defensive cover, as well. Down low, expect a physical battle between Pirates sophomore forward Sandro Mamukelashvili and a motivated Govan looking to reassert himself.

Georgetown Hoyas vs. Seton Hall Pirates Preview and Predictions 2019-02-13 | Scores and Stats

ABOUT SETON HALL (14-9, 5-6): With Taurean Thompson out because of a violation of team rules, the Pirates essentially beat Creighton with their starting five players. Junior Quincy McKnight overcame early foul trouble to score 14 points and is now averaging 12 points in league games, which is a slight uptick from his season average of 10.3 points. Sandro Mamukelashvili had his fourth double-digit rebound game of the season, and Michael Nzei and Myles Cale combined for 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Pirates, who are one of five teams along with Georgetown, St. John’s, DePaul and Butler who are 5-6 in the Big East.

Game Notes, Game 24 (vs. Georgetown) | SHU Pirates

The Pirates always have a distinct advantage playing at their downtown Newark home. When it comes to BIG EAST basketball at the Rock, the Pirates have won 19 of their last 25. Furthermore, Seton Hall is 44-11 (.800) at Prudential Center since the start of the 2015-16 season...

Powered By Powell [] Seton Hall is at its best when Myles Powell dominates the game. The Pirates are 8-0 this season when he scores at least 25 points...

Seton Hall is 76-10 (.884) in its last 86 games (dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season) when holding a lead of seven or more at any point in the contest.

Myles Powell turns it on late in Seton Hall’s big comeback win | New York Post

“Coach pulled me aside and said, ‘This is what you live for; this is your time,’ ” Powell said. “So he put the ball in my hands.’’

And the result the Pirates so desperately needed — a stirring 63-58 comeback victory over Creighton on Saturday night at the Prudential Center — followed.

Powell, who had been held in check by a Creighton defense that was intent on not allowing him to go off, scored the final nine points for Seton Hall after that timeout stop-and-chat with Willard and finished with 22 points.

Hoop Thoughts: No Coachspeak allowed! Let’s go behind enemy lines to hear the truth on the top teams | The Athletic ($)

[Seton Hall:] Teams are really focusing in on Myles Powell. If you top-block him coming off those screens, it makes it hard for him to catch the ball, and then it forces the other guys to make plays. Who else besides Powell can make perimeter shots? They’re not going to score in front of the rim... Defensively they’re just OK. They work at it. They don’t have a basket protector, so the paint can be susceptible...

THROWBACK 2/12/2018 - Just What the Doctor Ordered: Derrickson leads Hoyas to win over Pirates, 83-80 | Casual Hoya

The teams continued to trade baskets. A three from Powell, a three from Pickett. Derrickson looped one in over Rodriguez, then Powell circled the entire backcourt to get in position for his 6th three pointer of the half. Dickerson wove his way through traffic to turn Pickett’s airball into a layup. Govan grabbed the rebound after Carrington missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Georgetown had the ball with just under two minutes to play in regulation...

Other games this season have blurred together into a mixture of dread and deja vu, but nothing up until this point had ever seemed so unbelievably familiar as watching the previous play unfold again. Dickerson dribbling the ball just past center court. The clock ticking down. Driving towards the basket but encountering Delgado, wheeling to the outside and finding Mosely waiting in the corner. The ball skips from Dickerson to Mosely and back to Derrickson just beyond the arc. Watching, waiting, hoping as this time, MD gets his shot up.

It goes in. Hoyas back on top, 83-80...