Xavier Musketeers vs Seton Hall Pirates Prediction, 2/24/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs Seton Hall Pirates

Date: Friday, February 24, 2023

Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

TV: ESPN+

Prudential Center is the site where the Seton Hall Pirates (16-12) will attempt to beat the Xavier Musketeers (20-8) on Friday.

The Xavier Musketeers faced Villanova and took a loss by a score of 64-63 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Musketeers finished with 10 and Villanova accounted for 16 fouls. They made 6 of their 19 tries from beyond the arc. Villanova ended up going 88.9% at the free throw line by making 8 of 9 shots. Moreover, Villanova grabbed 24 rebounds (3 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Villanova totaled 13 assists and had 7 steals in the matchup. Concerning defense, Xavier allowed the other team to go 44.6% from the field on 25 of 56 shooting. They also distributed 17 dimes for the matchup while forcing 7 turnovers and having 4 steals. Concerning hauling in boards, they collected 33 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Musketeers converted 9 of their 12 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Xavier ended with a 45.1% FG percentage (23 out of 51) and made 8 out of their 23 shots from downtown.

Souley Boum is one player who was a contributor for the contest. He went 41.7% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. He saw the court for 40 minutes played and also snagged 4 rebounds. He racked up 17 points on 5 of 12 shooting.

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Xavier heads into this game with a mark of 20-8 so far this year. They are averaging 81.9 points per game (12th in the nation) while shooting 49.8% from the field. The Musketeers are shooting 39.4% on 3-point shots (212 of 538) and 71.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Xavier is pulling in 37.3 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 568 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 1st in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 13.0 times per contest and as a unit are committing 15.8 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Musketeers have forced 12.3 turnovers per game while drawing 17.7 personal fouls. They are ranked 333rd in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 427 conceded so far this season. The Musketeers defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.5% (775 of 1,740) and they concede 32.3 boards per game as a group. They are conceding 36.4% from 3-point land and they rank 310th in college basketball in points per game allowed (74.8).

In their last game, the Seton Hall Pirates took a loss by a final score of 64-55 when they played Connecticut. In regard to rebounding, Seton Hall allowed Connecticut to collect 37 in total (13 offensive). They shot 18.2% from 3-point land by connecting on 4 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 16 out of 22 from the free throw line (72.7%). The Pirates allowed Connecticut to knock down 22 out of 52 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.3% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Pirates finished the game shooting 21 out of 53 from the floor which had them shooting 39.6%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, Seton Hall knocked down 2 out of their 11 tries (18.2%). They were able to knock down 11 of those for a percentage of 73.3%. Connecticut was called for 15 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Pirates to the free throw line for 15 attempts. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 7 steals for the matchup. The Pirates were able to corral 15 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 19 for this game.

Al-Amir Dawes ended up having an impact for the Pirates in the game. He recorded 16 points in his 39 minutes of playing time, but wasn't able to earn an assist. He buried 6 out of 17 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 35.3%, and earned 2 rebounds.

Seton Hall has a record of 16-12 this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Pirates are shooting 43.6% from the field, which has them ranked 244th in D-1. Seton Hall has 1,913 points this year (68.3 per contest) and they snag 35.6 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 12.0 times per contest (277th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.2 times per game. The Pirates are committing 17.9 fouls per game and they shoot 68.1% from the charity stripe.

The Pirates on the defensive side of the court are 37th in D-1 in points given up per game with 64.4. They are forcing 14.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.0% from the field (49th in college basketball). The Seton Hall defense concedes 30.1% on 3-point shots (171 of 569) and their opposition knocks down 70.6% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 12.5 dimes and 34.5 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 168th and 210th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Seton Hall

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