Very Important Test vs Butler

[NYC Pirate]

I feel like tonight is not going to be easy in any way against Butler. I'm hoping for a good
crowd, but I think it could be closer to that 6500 range at Prudential. The 6:30 on a Wednesday
night feels a bit odd and you may not get a huge student turnout. Why is that important? Our players
feed off the atmosphere at home. In addition Butler can play in a more relaxed fashion. So that's going
to be an issue that Seton Hall may have to overcome. The fans that are there hopefully can inspire the home team. Either way the Pirates have play with fire and bring the defensive intensity.

My gut says that Seton Hall is better as a team than last year's version and Butler may be just a notch below
their level from last season. Butler still scares you because they have strong talented guys on their roster. Seton Hall also has dynamic players that can match the Bulldogs on the court.

It is imperative that we continue to have balance on the offensive side. You'd like to see Carrington return to
form. IW has to stay in the "PG mode" and accumulate those assists. I'm not sure you can expect a repeat performance from Delgado as far as scoring. So other guys have to step up. We'd also benefit if Singh can
knock down a few of those jumpers.

This is a big test. A win here increases the Pirate chances of going to NCAA's to a more than realistic level.
This would get you to 8 wins. At that point you need 2 more wins against @SJU, @DePaul, @Gtown , @Butler, Providence or Xavier at home in order to guarantee a winning record in conference play.

As long as SHU doesn't come out passive or lethargic this game should be a tossup.

 

[williaza01]

I feel like tonight is not going to be easy in any way against Butler. I'm hoping for a good
crowd, but I think it could be closer to that 6500 range at Prudential. The 6:30 on a Wednesday
night feels a bit odd and you may not get a huge student turnout. Why is that important? Our players
feed off the atmosphere at home. In addition Butler can play in a more relaxed fashion. So that's going
to be an issue that Seton Hall may have to overcome. The fans that are there hopefully can inspire the home team. Either way the Pirates have play with fire and bring the defensive intensity.

My gut says that Seton Hall is better as a team than last year's version and Butler may be just a notch below
their level from last season. Butler still scares you because they have strong talented guys on their roster. Seton Hall also has dynamic players that can match the Bulldogs on the court.

It is imperative that we continue to have balance on the offensive side. You'd like to see Carrington return to
form. IW has to stay in the "PG mode" and accumulate those assists. I'm not sure you can expect a repeat performance from Delgado as far as scoring. So other guys have to step up. We'd also benefit if Singh can
knock down a few of those jumpers.

This is a big test. A win here increases the Pirate chances of going to NCAA's to a more than realistic level.
This would get you to 8 wins. At that point you need 2 more wins against @SJU, @DePaul, @Gtown , @Butler, Providence or Xavier at home in order to guarantee a winning record in conference play.

As long as SHU doesn't come out passive or lethargic this game should be a tossup.

I agree. This has the feeling of a 1 point game which we could definitely get the wrong end of. However, looking at Butler they do not have one good road conference win. Also, their 5 wins are 2 vs St Johns 2 vs DePaul and Georgetown. They also struggle to play defense. All of those things seem to favor us. We shall see

 

[radecicco]

Agree with all the above. I'm worried about this one (as I am about every game) as Butler is desperate. They have to get to 9 wins in the league. They have offensive fire power where Martin or Dunham can go for 25 on any given night. Jones is such an unorthodox player. They have the experience of being successful in meaningful late Feb/Mar games.

We certainly have the talent, skills and athleticism to win but playing well doesn't always guarantee a victory (see Nova). Our guys have been playing at such a high intensity level for so long that a slight drop off could really hurt. Of course maintaining that intensity is probably the next step in the team's development. It really should be a great game. If we get this one....

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

I worry about being a little sluggish. However under no circumstances does this team come out sluggish with a good student section turnout. We need to pack the house tonight and give these guys the support they need.