The last day of 2022 presents the first must-win game of the Big East season for Seton Hall and St. John’s.
A pair of teams in need of a feel-good victory will meet Saturday afternoon when the Pirates host the Red Storm in a battle of longtime conference rivals in Newark, N.J.
Seton Hall (7-7, 0-3) remained winless in Big East play Tuesday night with an 83-69 setback at Marquette.
The Pirates are in danger of starting 0-4 in the league for the first time since 2008-09. They have struggled offensively in their last two games, during which they’ve shot just 27.5 percent (11 of 40) from 3-point range while making only 57.8 percent of their free throws (26 of 45).
Overall, Seton Hall has the worst marks in the conference in 3-point shooting (29.9 percent) and free throw shooting (66.8 percent).
“They’re going to need to see a few shots go in,” Pirates head coach Shaheen Holloway told The Asbury Park Press on Friday. “Once a few shots go in — they don’t have to be 3s, they can be free throws or layups — you’ve got to find other ways to score and get your confidence going and go from there.”
Dre Davis led Seton Hall with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the loss to Marquette.
St. John’s (11-3, 1-2) dropped under .500 in the league Wednesday night when a furious late comeback fell short in an 84-79 home loss to No. 22 Xavier.
The Red Storm, who are 0-2 in road games this season, squandered an 11-point first-half lead in a 78-63 loss at Villanova on Dec. 21. St. John’s trailed by as many as 18 in the second half Wednesday, when Xavier outrebounded the Red Storm 48-36 and finished with 16 second-chance points.
“We kind of dug ourselves a hole in that first half,” St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson said. “The loose balls and the extra effort — they were making the plays. They dominated us in rebounding in the first half. The extra effort went their way in the first half.”
David Jones led four Red Storm double-digit scorers with 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Musketeers.
–Field Level Media