Seton Hall @ Providence preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 22, 2020 ) Providence 64, Seton Hall 73

No. 10 Seton Hall is coming off its second straight home loss to see its lead in the Big East trimmed to two games. The Pirates have yet to lose on the road in conference play, however, and they'll try to keep that run alive when they visit Providence on Saturday.

After a mammoth win at No. 16 Villanova last Saturday, Seton Hall returned home and dropped an 87-82 decision to 21st-ranked Creighton on Wednesday that went a long way toward keeping some drama in the race for first place. Senior leader Myles Powell was held to 3-of-16 shooting - 1-of-11 from 3-point range - in a 12-point effort for the Pirates. The Friars gave their NCAA Tournament resume a huge boost with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents before falling at Xavier and St. John's in their last two games. "I'm really disappointed in the way we played," coach Ed Cooley told the media after Wednesday's 80-69 loss to the Red Storm. "Give St. John's credit. I thought they were more urgent, tougher and played the way they wanted to play. We have to do a better job handling the ball and we can't let this game beat us for (Saturday's game)."

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SETON HALL (18-6, 10-2 Big East): Powell is 6-for-30 from the floor in the two home losses this month, and his teammates know they'll need a little more when their leader is off. "We can't rely on him all the time," fellow guard Quincy McKnight told reporters Wednesday. "He's going to have a game like this. We've just got to bounce back like we always do." Powell ranks second in the Big East in scoring (21.4) and McKnight is second in assists (5.5).

ABOUT PROVIDENCE (13-12, 6-6): The Friars were done in by a season-high 23 turnovers in the visit to St. John's, and they didn't help themselves by making 6-of-22 from 3-point range. Senior guard Alpha Diallo did his part with 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, boosting his team-leading marks in both categories to 13.2 and 8.1, respectively. Sophomore guard David Duke is next on the scoring list at 12.5, but he has been below that mark in each of the last six contests, including a nine-point showing in a 73-64 loss at Seton Hall on Jan. 22.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pirates sophomore G Jared Rhoden had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with eight rebounds in the first meeting.

2. Friars senior G Luwane Pipkins is 5-of-21 from the field and has one assist in 52 minutes over his last three games.

3. Seton Hall senior C Romaro Gill entered Friday ranked third nationally with 3.5 blocks per game, including eight in the first matchup with Providence.

PREDICTION: Seton Hall 69, Providence 66