2019-20 BIG EAST Game

No. 10 Seton Hall Pirates (16-4, 8-0 BIG EAST) vs. Xavier Musketeers (13-8, 2-6 BIG EAST) Date/Time/Location Saturday, Feb. 1 | 11 a.m. | Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) Tickets Ticketmaster.com | Prudential Center Box Office Television Broadcast FOX Broadcast Network (WNYW 5 in New York) | FOX Sports GO Radio Broadcast WMCA 570 AM | Sirius 81 | XM 81 | Pirate Sports Network Game Notes Seton Hall | Xavier Links Live Stats | Twitter | Instagram Promotion Star Wars Day | Black History Month Game Sponsorship Presented by JAG

11 a.m. game time. It sure is unusual.



But there is precedent for Seton Hall. Let's throw it back to Jan. 2, 2016 and March 5, 2016.



On Jan. 2, Seton Hall and DePaul faced off in an 11 a.m. start time at Prudential Center, tipping off what was then an FS1 BIG EAST marathon of games. Think about this for a moment, for DePaul, a Central Time Zone school, it really was a 10 a.m. start! The Pirates didn't seem to have an issue back then with the early start time, getting out to an eight-point lead on the Blue Demons and shooting 45.5 percent for the first half. DePaul took a brief lead early in the second half, but the Pirates, behind Isaiah Whitehead's 18 points and nine assists and Angel Delgado's 12-12 double-double, comfortably led by two possessions most of the way. That is until the very end of the game when Seton Hall was up three but fouled Billy Garrett Jr., on a three-point attempt. Luckily, Garrett Jr., missed the first free throw, and his intentional miss on the third went out of bounds. The Hall held on for the 78-74 victory after Whitehead iced the game with free throws.



Then on March 5, Seton Hall and DePaul met again in an 11 a.m., game, this time at Allstate Arena, and the Pirates had no trouble scoring in the early going, jumping out to a 21-11 lead and eventually finishing the first half shooting 52 percent from the field, taking a 36-32 lead into the break. DePaul scored the first bucket of the second half, but the Pirates quickly went on a 7-0 run to quiet the Blue Demons. From there it was the Isaiah Whitehead show as he scored 25 of his career-high 33 points in the second half to push the Pirates to an 80-66 victory, finishing the BIG EAST regular season with wins in seven of the last nine games.



So who knows what an 11 a.m. start will bring.



Saturday's morning start will air on the FOX Broadcast Network (WNYW Channel 5 in New York) with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall serving the audience. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin, together for 500 broadcasts, will call it on the radio via WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on Sirius 81, XM 81 and the Pirate Sports Network.



Three Things to Know About Saturday's Morning Matchup With Xavier

1. The Last Matchup was the Opposite of What We Were Expecting

2. Free Throws Could be a Factor

3. Chasing History

On Jan. 8, Seton Hall was sporting KenPom's seventh best defensive efficiency and Xavier was sporting the 20th best. So we all expected a game in the 60s. Instead we got an 83-71 score with Seton Hall shooting over 50 percent for the game and Xavier making eight threes while also shooting 83 percent at the free throw line. Since that time, Seton Hall's defensive efficiency has moved up to sixth, and the Pirates have held opponents to 65.0 points per game while Xavier has slipped to 38th in defensive efficiency and has allowed opponents to average 76.0 points per game. So what do we expect Saturday morning? Who knows!?Ok, free throws are not a strength for either team. Seton Hall is seventh in the BIG EAST at 69.4 percent and Xavier is 10th at 66.1 percent. And it was pretty glaring Wednesday night when the Pirates went 14-for-29 and the Musketeers went 11-for-25. But sometimes those things happen in a game, and don't forget that sometimes it matters WHO goes to the free throw line. Two of Seton Hall's best free throw shooters () didn't even have an attempt last game. Either way, make your free throws and you stand a better chance of winning.And we're not even talking abouthere. We're talking about, whose crazy block numbers are skyrocketing up the Seton Hall charts. He now has 103 blocks for his career, 15th most in program history and 69 blocks this season, sixth-most in program single-season history. He's fourth in the country in blocks per game and block percentage. He swatted five in the last matchup with Xavier. Can he go for more?