They might not have qualified for the March Madness bracket, but the Seton Hall Pirates — a starting lineup of senior and post-grad players — still wanted to hoop.
Their last hurrah will be as a top seed in the 32-team field at the 2024 National Invitation Tournament, and they open Tuesday against the Saint Joseph’s Hawks as 7.5-point favorites in the March Madness odds.
Can the Hawks, who actually have more wins on the year than the Pirates, shake up the NIT on Day 1? Read below for my free college basketball picks for Saint Joseph’s vs. Seton Hall on Wednesday, March 20.
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Saint Joseph's vs Seton Hall best odds
Saint Joseph's vs Seton Hall picks and predictions
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for the Seton Hall Pirates, who finished fourth in the Big East this year with 13 wins and a 20-12 record overall. Their resume includes a 15-point win over the UConn Huskies — the top overall seed at March Madness — and they entered the season-ending conference tourney winning seven of 10.
However, a 91-72 quarterfinal loss to the St. John’s Red Storm left their fate in the hands of the NCAA selection committee, and their bubble burst on Selection Sunday.
Defensively, the Pirates surrender just 70.2 points per game, which is 102nd in the nation, holding teams to 42.3% shooting from the field (72nd). That balances out an offense that struggles to score at 72.9 points per game, which ranks 209th.
They’ll be taking on a Saint Joseph's Hawks side that’s just outside the Top 90 in scoring at 75.6 points per game, powered by a 3-point shooting attack that ranks inside the Top 15 in both attempts (28.2) and makes per game (10), while hitting at a respectable 35.6% clip from beyond the arc.
There’s likely not a more experienced team at the NIT than the Pirates, and the Big East provided some solid competition as evidenced by their 43rd overall strength of schedule ranking on KenPom. Conversely, the Hawks’ SOS at KenPom ranks 126th, and they’ve played just two ranked teams all year.
Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway left it up to his starters to decide to play the NIT if they failed to make the tourney, and they voted unanimously to suit up. I like them to take care of business tonight.
My best bet: Seton Hall -7.5 (-105 at DraftKings) 64% boost available
Saint Joseph's vs Seton Hall same-game parlay
Seton Hall -7.5
Kadary Richmond Over 0.5 made 3s
Al-Amir Dawes Under 14.5 points
64% boost available
Kadary Richmond leads the Pirates in scoring at 16.1 points per game, and he’s been given a very generous line of 0.5 3-point makes.
Hitting from distance isn’t exactly Richmond’s forte, but prior to an 0-for-1 performance against St. John’s, the senior had hit at least one triple in three games in a row and four of the last five.
Saint Joe’s ranks outside the Top 200 in 3-point shooting defense, and most importantly, all Richmond needs is one to go through for a win.
Teammate Al-Amir Dawes is coming off a 22-point game against the Red Storm, but perhaps that was a by-product of Richmond’s struggles. Prior to that outburst, Dawes went for single-digits in three straight and hadn’t crossed the 14.5 scoring line in four straight.
Look for that trend to continue on Wednesday.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Saint Joseph's vs Seton Hall spread and Over/Under analysis
- Seton Hall is just 14-18 against the spread this season, and have failed to cover in four of its last five games.
- Saint Joseph’s is 18-16-0 ATS, with spread wins in three of its past four.
- The Pirates have hit the Over in seven of their last 10 appearances.
- The Hawks have seen the Under go 7-3 in their last 10.
Saint Joseph's vs Seton Hall betting trend to know
Seton Hall has hit the moneyline in 14 of their last 22 games (+12.30 Units / 25% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Saint Joseph's vs. Seton Hall.
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Saint Joseph's vs Seton Hall game info
| Location: | Prudential Center, Newark, NJ |
| Date: | Wednesday, March 20, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN2 |
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