BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Seton Hall @ Rutgers

January 27, 2007


We will see what kind of bounce the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have after hitting rock-bottom Wednesday night when they were blown out by South Florida, 62-40. It was the same old formula for Rutgers as their poor shooting did them in.

Seton Hall showed they will not quit as they gave Marquette quite a run rallying from 20 pts down early in the 2nd half to cut the lead to six before running out of gas. The Pirates will play 94 feet and pressure Rutgers everywhere, and frankly, they are not a good match-up for the Scarlet Knights because you know Seton Hall is going to score points.

Being a rivalry game and knowing that Rutgers is looking like one of the worst conference teams in history, I think they will come out with a big effort against the Pirates. It has been a very disappointing season so far for the Scarlet Knights as there was some promise and excitement for the beginning of the Fred Hill era. However, their enemic offense continues to under-perform all expectations.

Seton Hall has been a pleasant surprise as Bobby Gonzalez has played right into the strength of his team with a perimeter orientated attack and style of play. The players have bought into it despite a lack of depth and they never quit. They have the makings of a very promising perimeter group with freshmen Eugene Harvey and Larry Davis, along with sophomore Paul Gause and junior Jamar Nutter, the Pirates will score points. The go undersized with Brian Laing playing the big forward spot and rotating John Garcia and Stan Gaines in the paint.

Seton Hall is the much better team right now. Rutgers will compete hard, but Seton Hall's backcourt should dominate their conterparts and come up with the win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Seton Hall 74 Rutgers 68