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Oregon vs Seton Hall: 2019-20 key storylines for Battle 4 Atlantis matchup

By Austin Walther

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 12: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks brings the ball up the court on Boogie Ellis #5 of the Memphis Tigers during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 12: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks brings the ball up the court on Boogie Ellis #5 of the Memphis Tigers during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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PORTLAND, OREGON – NOVEMBER 12: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks brings the ball up the court during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON – NOVEMBER 12: Payton Pritchard #3 of the Oregon Ducks brings the ball up the court during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

1. Excellent guards for both teams

There are four guards in this game that if you don’t know about now, you certainly will after this Tournament. Obviously, Pritchard and Powell are the household names. But one is a traditional point guard and the other is a primary shooting guard. Pritchard’s best friend this season is New Mexico grad transfer Anthony Mathis. Meanwhile, the guy who gets Powell the ball the majority of the time is Quincy McKnight.

Oregon wasn’t really known for scoring a whole a lot last season. They were troubled by injuries and the defense carried them. But by the time March rolled around, everyone was healthy (besides Bol Bol) and the Ducks got to the sweet 16. Pritchard though was forced to lead the team is shooting three-pointers. This season is a little different. Mathis has come out on fire. He’s 20 for 31 from deep. Pritchard has made just eight, but he’ll live with that. Mathis made over 200 three-pointers for the Lobos in his final two seasons with them.

There are actually two guys who are great point guards for Seton Hall. The starter is McKnight. He was named to the Big East All-Tournament team last season which was his first with the Pirates. Like Mathis, McKnight got his start elsewhere. He went to Sacred Heart for his freshman and sophomore seasons. McKnight averaged a solid 2.8 assists per game. Once he got teamed up with Powell, that number increased to four. He certainly likes to have a guy like Powell to pass the ball to.

The backup point guard for Seton Hall has one fewer assist than McKnight. Anthony Nelson is a terrific guard to have come off the bench. He played just ten minutes per game in every game as a freshman and didn’t average over two assists. Now that his minutes have gone up, there’s no drop off at the point guard position for Seton Hall. Guys like Powell, Myles Cale and the big men Sandro Mamukelashavili, Romaro Gill and Ike Obiagu appreciate that a lot.

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