Georgetown vs. Seton Hall: 2021 Big East semifinal game preview, TV schedule

The Georgetown Hoyas and Seton Hall Pirates will clash in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Friday night.

TV/Radio Schedule: Friday, March 12, 6 pm ET. FS1 | Westwood One | XM Channel 207 | Sirius Channel 134

Arena: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

After two consecutive nights of basketball at the “World’s Most Famous Arena”, the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament has been as good as advertised. The enigmatic conference continues to be filled with surprises as four of the first five matchups have seen the lower seed come away victorious.

Georgetown survives and advances

The afternoon slate from quarterfinal Thursday did not disappoint, as the No. 8 Georgetown Hoyas stunned the injury-plagued No. 1 Villanova Wildcats,72-71, to advance to the semifinals for the first time in the Patrick Ewing era. Georgetown will be playing in its first semifinal contest in the BIG EAST Tournament since 2015.

Two last-second free throw makes from Dante Harris lifted the Hoyas past the Wildcats for the first time at the BIG EAST Tournament since 2008.

Harris finished with 18 points, his highest total since dropping a career-high 22 points on Dec. 13 against St. John’s, and also added five assists with no turnovers in 37 minutes of action.

Key contributors for the Hoyas in their upset victory over Villanova included Qudus Wahab who scored 17 points (7-of-7 from the charity stripe), 14 bench points from Jahvon Blair, and a 12 point-eight rebound performance from Jamorko Pickett.

A major reason why Georgetown will be playing Seton Hall instead of Villanova – Patrick Ewing’s squad was perfect from the free-throw line, finishing 23-for-23, setting a BIG EAST Tournament record.

Friday’s contest will mark the Hoyas’ 23rd appearance in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Georgetown is 13-9 in BIG EAST semifinal games.

Seton Hall needs overtime to knock off the Johnnies

Seton Hall and St. John’s provided punch after punch in this heavily-anticipated quarterfinal matchup on Thursday. Both teams desperately needed a win to improve their chances of securing a bid in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

The Pirates and the Red Storm needed an extra five minutes to determine who was moving onto the semifinal round. Sandro Mamukelashvili (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Jared Rhoden’s 19 point-16 rebound performance catapulted Kevin Willard’s squad over the Johnnies in overtime, 77-69.

Seton Hall advances to its fifth BIG EAST Tournament semifinal appearances in seven years under Willard.

Senior guard Myles Cale helped Seton Hall push past the Red Storm with 16 points and eight rebounds while junior Ike Obiagu finished with seven blocks.

Obiagu’s seven blocks and Rhoden’s 16 rebounds each tied a team record in the BIG EAST Tournament.

The Pirates outrebounded the Red Storm 49-40 and added 18 second-chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds.  Over the last 12:44, the Pirates did not commit a single turnover after committing 15 before that point.

The Pirates are now 15-7 at Madison Square Garden since the 2013-14 season, 7-3 since 2017-18.

What’s at stake on Friday…

Both charter members of the BIG EAST Conference are fighting for a chance to play in Saturday night’s championship game. Both teams split the regular-season series, Seton Hall claiming the first victory on its home floor on Dec. 23, 78-67, while Georgetown won the second contest at home on Feb. 20, 81-75.

Seton Hall can help solidify its chances of securing an NCAA Tournament bid with a win on Friday. Georgetown will need to run the table in order to make an appearance at the NCAA Tournament.

Seton Hall finished as the runner-up in the last BIG EAST Championship game in 2019. With a win on Friday, the Hoyas will make its first appearance in the BIG EAST title game in 11 years.