Resting firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Seton Hall Pirates boosted their March Madness hopes with a 79-47 rout of the Providence Friars in the first round of the Big East Tournament Tuesday night. Wednesday night, the No. 10 Pirates (20-11, 8-10 Big East) will face the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals (22-9, 10-8 Big East) at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN3D.
Five Pirates scored in double figures Tuesday night, including four members of the starting lineup. Senior forward Herb Pope and freshman forward Brandon Mobley (who played 33 minutes off the bench) each scored a game-high 16 points, while senior guard Jordan Theodore contributed a double-double with 13 points and 13 assists. Sophomore guard/forward Fuquan Edwin added 12 points and sophomore forward Patrik Auda had 11. For the game, Seton Hall was 56.0 percent from the field (28-for-50).
Louisville, meanwhile, earned a first-round bye despite losing its last two regular-season games. The Cardinals have six players averaging at least 8.0 points per game, and three average double-figures -- senior guard/forward Kyle Kuric (12.9 ppg), sophomore guard Russ Smith (11.9) and senior guard Chris Smith (10.1 ppg).
The winner of Wednesday's game will face the No. 2 Marquette Golden Eagles Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN3D.
— For complete coverage of the Big East Tournament, check back to this SB Nation New York StoryStream. For more on the Big East Conference, visit the SB Nation blog Big East Coast Bias.