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St. John's and Seton Hall will meet up in the Big East tournament quarterfinals from Madison Square Garden. The last time these two played, Rick Pitino had some infamous quotes postgame after St. John's blew a big lead to Seton Hall.
"We are so nonathletic that we can't guard anybody without fouling. And really it's not about losing. Even winning, when I watch the film, I see unathletic plays, I see people that don't handle the ball, that are just interested in taking quick shots. It's been a disappointing year."
It was truly an all-time moment from the legendary coach, but he recently spent some time on the "Pardon My Take" podcast and said his words were planned and simply used as motivation for his team.
The Johnnies went on to win their final five games of the regular season, so I would say the motivation worked.
Let's break down this matchup in our St. John's vs. Seton Hall preview and pick.
St. John's vs Seton Hall Odds
Thursday, March 14, 2:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
| St. John's Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
| -4 -112 |
143 -115o / -105u |
OFF |
| Seton Hall Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
| +4 -108 |
143 -115o / -105u |
OFF |
Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute NCAAB odds here.
St. John's Red Storm
St. John's battled hard down the stretch of the season, but still finds itself on the outside looking in on the NCAA tournament. If the Johnnies want to get there, they'll need to at least win this game against the Pirates.
St John's recipe for success will be crashing the boards. It's not only one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, but it ranks 10th nationally in offensive rebounding, according to Vincerix.
Grabbing offensive boards and getting second-chance points will be massive against this Seton Hall team. The Pirates will look to control the pace and limit St. John's offensive chances, so rebounding misses will be important.
The Johnnies will also look to fire from 3 and lean on guard Daniss Jenkins to do so. He's their leading scorer and shoots over 35% from deep.
Seton Hall Pirates
Seton Hall finds itself (somewhat) on the bubble after a very up-and-down season. Its home win against UConn is doing a lot for its at-large chances, but another victory in the Big East tournament wouldn't hurt.
The Pirates should feel very confident after sweeping the Johnnies during the regular season.
Seton Hall did a great job limiting St. John's offense and dictating the pace of the game. The Johnnies were held to 65 points or less in both meetings.
Shaheen Holloway will ramp up the team's defense and play a slow style of basketball to limit the fast St. John's offense.
St. John's vs. Seton Hall
Betting Pick & Prediction
Both of these teams are talented, but I don't see a world where Holloway sweeps Pitino three times. St. John's has looked like a new team since Pitino fired up his roster; they look extra motivated.
Year after year, there's a team that heats up around this time, and this year, it just might be the Johnnies.
I'm expecting St. John's to run and force Seton Hall to beat it in transition. Between setting the pace and crashing the boards, St. John's will get the job done on its "home court."
Pick: St. John's -4
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