College Basketball Game of the Week: Seton Hall vs. Creighton
Two of the top teams in the Big East will battle when No. 8 Seton Hall (21-8, 13-4) travels to CHI Health Center Omaha to face off with No. 11 Creighton (23-7, 12-5) Saturday. With the Big East regular season crown on the line, expect a dandy between the elite of the conference.
Both teams were in action Wednesday night. It was Seton Hall’s senior night against a team right behind them in the standings in the No. 14 Villanova Wildcats. If the Pirates won the game, they would have clinched the Big East title for the first time since 1993, but it wasn’t the case this time around.
Seton Hall looked dead and trailed by 14 points with eight-and-a-half minutes to go in the second half. The Pirates rallied all the way back and pulled within one possession, with 3.4 seconds left.
The Pirates got the ball upcourt and looked in the direction of junior wing Myles Cale, whose game-winning 3-pointer from the corner missed the mark as time expired. Villanova held on to win the game 79-77 and ruined the celebration in Newark. It was a heartbreaker for Seton Hall, but it still control its own destiny.
Senior guard Myles Powell just couldn’t seem to get going in the game. Powell finished with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting and dished out eight assists. Junior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili charged the Seton Hall comeback with 20 points and 10 boards.
Meanwhile, in Omaha, Nebraska, Creighton took care of business on its home floor against Georgetown, 91-76. The Bluejays shot 50 percent from the field and drained 17 three-pointers in the win. Junior guard Mitchell Ballock and sophomore winger Marcus Zegarowski both had 20 points apiece and drained eight threes combined.
These two met back on Feb. 12 in Newark with Creighton holding off Seton Hall, 87-82. Three different players had 18 points for Creighton in the game. Defensively, the Bluejays kept Powell in check with 12 points. Both teams shot poorly from 3 in the first matchup, a combined 15-of-52 from downtown between the two sides.
The Bluejays have been unbelievable on the road this season with some huge wins in the conference. That’s the main reason why they are in the position that they are in.
Now, at home, Creighton has an opportunity to sweep Seton Hall and reign as Big East champions. It will be interesting to see how Seton Hall responds after such a tough loss. To come out on top in this one, Powell will have to come through with a much better game.
Creighton is red-hot at home with a 16-1 record, with its only loss coming to Villanova in January. If the Bluejays hit their shots at the rate they did against Georgetown, they will win this one easily. If Seton Hall gets up early and forces Creighton to make a comeback, the Pirates will be in a great position.
Prediction: Creighton 74, Seton Hall 69
Matthew McClure is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact, email mcm5964@psu.edu.
