Villanova vs. Seton Hall: 2019 Big East Tournament finals game preview, TV scheudule
Villanova and Seton Hall meet in the finals of the Big East Basketball Tournament. Will the Pirates end any kind of doubt about their at-large hopes by getting the win?
TV schedule: Saturday, March 16, 6:30 pm ET. FOX
Arena: Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
It’s been a tough Championship Week for teams on the bubble. Between the A-10 and WCC all of a sudden becoming multiple-bid leagues and programs such as Indiana, Clemson, Texas and other bowing out early in their respective conference tournaments, there were opportunities for someone like Seton Hall 20-12 (9-9) to take advantage.
And that they have. After back-to-back wins against Marquette and Villanova to end the regular season, the Pirates defeated both Georgetown and the Golden Eagles again to advance to the finals of the Big East Tournament. The team went from being projected outside the field of 68 to now not needing the automatic bid to make it in. Guard Myles Powell has looked every bit of a First-Team All-Big East player, leading Seton Hall in scoring both games to an average of 27.5 ppg.
He did have some help in the upset win over Marquette on Friday, including 18 points from Quincy McKnight and a 15-rebound effort from big man Michael Nzei. These two and others will need to come up huge again when they take on the Big East regular season champion Villanova 24-9 (13-5). The Wildcats took care of Providence in the quarterfinals before needing overtime to overcome a desperate Xavier team who led most of the game.
Phil Booth was huge in the game last night, scoring 28 points on 9/20 shooting in 44 minutes played. Jermaine Samuels was big in the frontcourt, putting up 17 points and nine rebounds. They were able to survive Colin Gillespie scoring just two points in the game.
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While the Pirates were able to pull off the upset over a week ago, Villanova was the dominant winner in the first matchup, beating Seton Hall by 28 points after a 50-point second half team performance. In a neutral site game, let’s see who wins the rubber match. The Wildcats are the better team but the Pirates have the momentum. And after some struggles in conference play, they’ll be the last Big East team standing before the NCAA Tournament.