NCAA Basketball: Pritchard surges in National Player of the Year rankings
By Brian Rauf
Stats: 21.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
Saturday’s game is equally as important for Myles Powell, who is in the midst of a pretty nasty shooting slump that has caused him to drop in the rankings. He has been held to 33.3 percent shooting in three of Seton Hall’s last four games and five of their last eight overall.
However, the Pirates are still managing to win those games and Powell has often come through late when needed – as he has been known to do throughout his career. He managed 18 points in Seton Hall’s win over St. John’s last weekend (their only game of the week).
After the game, he mentioned a reason for his recent struggles, revealing he has been dealing with tendinitis in his knee since the start of the month.
"“Yeah, I’ve been playing college basketball for four years. I’ve been battling tendinitis and we get a week off. Hopefully, I can get a lot of treatment. … It’s nothing really that bad. I mean, I’ll be OK.”"
Having the week off may have come at the right time for him and Pirates, as the school is trying to win their first Big East regular-season title since 1993 and has seen their lead shrink to one game thanks to the rise of Creighton and consistent play of Villanova.
The Pirates face both of those teams over the course of the next week, too, so Powell’s candidacy could still receive a major boost if he can regain his previous form.