Seton Hall @ Southern Miss preview

Less than 24 hours after blowing a 19-point second-half lead against 10th-ranked Oregon, No. 13 Seton Hall looks to regroup for Thursday’s matchup against Southern Miss in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. The Pirates wasted a 32-point effort from star Myles Powell against Oregon, which closed Wednesday’s 71-69 victory with a 14-2 run in the final six minutes.

Powell was 11-of-25 from the field and made seven 3-pointers for Seton Hall, whose two losses have come to Michigan State and Oregon by a combined five points. Powell, the Big East preseason player of the year, missed a long 3-point attempt at the end of the game and had to be carried off the court due to cramps but should be available for Thursday’s matchup. The Pirates are also expecting to have senior Quincy McKnight back in the lineup after the guard was held to one point in 20 minutes while sitting out most of the second half due to cramping. Instead of facing No. 7 Gonzaga in a semifinal matchup Thursday, Seton Hall will be playing a young Southern Miss team that was picked to finish last in the Conference USA preseason poll.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT SOUTHERN MISS (2-4): Junior guard LaDavius Draine made five 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 19 points in Wednesday’s 94-69 loss to Gonzaga, which shot 57.6 percent and made 13 three-pointers. The Zags did an excellent job slowing down senior forward Boban Jacdonmi, who was held to seven points and six boards after entering the matchup as the Golden Eagles' top scorer (16.4 points) and second-leading rebounder (7.6). Coach Jay Ladner has been encouraged by the play of freshman forward Artur Konontsuk, who scored a season-high 19 points in the loss.

ABOUT SETON HALL (4-2): Powell has entered the national player of the year discussion while averaging 24.2 points, but the Pirates will need more production from players such as Jared Rhoden and Anthony Nelson to contend in the Big East. The sophomore guards scored a combined six points on 2-of-8 shooting in the loss to Oregon. Coach Kevin Willard is also hoping for a bounce-back effort from centers Ike Obiagu and Romaro Gill, who contributed a total of two points and five rebounds against the Ducks.

TIP-INS

1. The winner faces either Iowa State or Alabama in Thursday’s fifth-place game while the loser will play in the seventh-place game.

2. Seton Hall is averaging 81.8 points while shooting 45.6 percent from the field.

3. Southern Miss is shooting 29.7 percent from 3-point range.

PREDICTION: Seton Hall 83, Southern Miss 62