The suddenly slumping Villanova Wildcats need to get back on track, and they will attempt to avoid yet another upset tonight when they take on the Seton Hall Pirates in Big East Conference action from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Villanova has lost its last two games and five of the last eight since opening the season with a 16-1 record. The Wildcats dropped to 7-5 in Big East action with a 57-54 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, seemingly crushing their hopes of winning the league's regular season title.
On Saturday, Seton Hall snapped a two-game skid with a 69-64 triumph over Rutgers, but the Pirates are still just 11-14 overall and 5-8 in conference. They have split their 12 home games to date.
Jeremy Hazell gives Seton Hall a chance to win every night out because of his ability to take over a game at the offensive end. The standout is averaging 18.0 ppg, and while his 39.8 percent field goal efficiency leaves much to be desired, Hazell is the true definition of a volume shooter. Jeff Robinson provides 12.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg for the Pirates, who are getting 11.2 ppg from Jordan Theodore and 10.5 ppg from Herb Pope. Add 8.8 rpg and 37 blocks to his line and Pope is clearly the club's top interior presence. Seton Hall is posting 67.4 ppg while allowing 65.1 ppg, but that positive differential isn't reflected in the team's sub-.500 overall record. Hazell scored 19 points against Rutgers on Saturday and surpassed the 2,000-point plateau for his collegiate career in the process. Theodore had 18 points and six assists off the bench for the Pirates, who connected on 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the win.