The Butler Bulldogs (16-7) head to Seton Hall to play the Pirates (17-6) in a matchup that pits the Big East’s top-ranked offense against the sixth-ranked defense. The game starts at 6:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and can be seen on FS1.
The Pirates come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, topping Georgetown 69-61 on Saturday. Angel Delgado played a key role, recording 19 points and 13 rebounds to notch his 12th double-double this season. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are coming off an 89-56 win over St. John’s on Saturday. They relied on Roosevelt Jones who recorded 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. He took his game to the next level with his first triple-double of the season.
Over the last five games, Delgado has been playing at a high level for the Pirates, averaging 14.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks. Kelan Martin has been on fire for the Bulldogs. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 22.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers.
It will be a matchup of two heavyweights, as the productive offense of the Bulldogs (10th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 117.7) takes the court against the elite defense of the Pirates (19th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 94.5).
The Pirates come into this game 17-6 Straight Up (SU) and 16-6 Against The Spread (ATS). The rebounding edge goes to the Pirates in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 40.9 boards per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Pirates prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 48th in the nation with 138 total three-pointers allowed (6.0 per game).
Over on the other bench, the Bulldogs have 16-7 SU and 10-12-1 ATS records. Butler has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 8-2. Offensively, the Bulldogs have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 81.5 points per game after averaging only 73.8 during that stretch. Butler is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, hitting .739 of their shots from the line. The Bulldogs rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 29th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.41.
The conference foes will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Bulldogs were winners, bumping their SU record to 4-1. The Bulldogs also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – Butler, ATS Winner – Butler
Notes
“Seton Hall is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Seton Hall is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seton Hall’s last 5 games “.
“Seton Hall is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“Seton Hall is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seton Hall’s last 5 games at home”.
“Seton Hall is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Butler”.
“Seton Hall is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Butler”.
Butler is one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 81.5 points per game (ranked 21st). Seton Hall allows 66.3 points per game (ranked 45th).
Butler averages 75.6 points per away game (ranked 44th). Seton Hall allows 65.5 points per home game (ranked 78th).
The Butler Bulldogs have a defensive rating of 99.6 (ranked 99th), while the Seton Hall Pirates have an offensive rating of 105.9 (ranked 180th).
Seton Hall averages 70.1 possessions per game, scoring 1.059 points on each possession. While Butler averages fewer possessions per game with 69.3, they score more points per possession with 1.177.
Butler has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.9%. Seton Hall is an even 2-2 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Seton Hall attempts 17.0 three pointers and Butler attempts 18.0. Both teams have dazzling records of 5-1 when they have 20 or more three point attempts.
Butler ranks 29th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.41. Seton Hall is ranked lower at 204th with an A/TO of 1.00.
Ranked 24th in the nation, Seton Hall averages 40.9 rebounds per game. Butler ranks lower at 113th with 37.7 RPG.
Seton Hall ranks 78th in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, Butler ranks 100th.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 20.2% when playing Seton Hall this season. Butler is undefeated (2-0) when its TO% is 20.2% or higher.
