Seton Hall vs TCU: 2022 NCAA Tournament game preview, TV schedule
The final game of the 2022 NCAA Tournament’s First Round will pit the Seton Hall Pirates against the TCU Horned Frogs.
TV Schedule: Friday, March 18 at 9:57 pm ET, TruTV
Location: Viejas Arena in San Diego, California
The final game to tip in the First Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament is Friday evening’s game against the Seton Hall Pirates and TCU Horned Frogs. While it’s not the sexiest game on the schedule, it could be one of the most closely matched.
The teams reached the point of an 8-9 battle in very different ways. Seton Hall came on surprisingly strong at the start of the season, only to be knocked down in Big East play. TCU largely flew under the radar before pulling some big upsets in Big 12 play.
Experience could be a factor in this game, though that remains to be seen. The Pirates have been to the Big Dance a handful of times under Kevin Willard; this is only the Horned Frogs’ second trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998.
The battle of the boards may be the pivotal factor in this game and both teams are coming to play in that regard, each ranking in the top 50 in the country. Seton Hall averages 38.9 boards per game, while TCU averages 38.8 rebounds per game. Both will try to crash the boards and create opportunities on both ends of the court.
The Horned Frogs are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting only 30.4 percent from deep. At some point, they’re going to have to hit more than a third of their three-pointers if they want to win in the postseason. Chuck O’Bannon Jr. is the only player hitting at least 33.3 percent from three (he’s hitting exactly that) while averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
Overall, TCU is not a terrible shooting team, hitting 44.1 percent of their total shots. They’re better than Seton Hall, although only slightly; the Pirates are averaging 72.9 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting.
Perhaps the biggest difference between these teams is in the passing lanes. Seton Hall averages only 10.4 assists per game and has just one player, Kadary Richmond, averaging at least three per game. TCU averages 13.6 assists per game, led by 4.4 per game from Damion Baugh.
These teams are so evenly matched, this could ultimately come down to factors harder to quantify, like motivation and momentum.
After Seton Hall’s early struggles in conference play, the Pirates turned things around in a major way. They won six straight entering the Big East Tournament, though only one of those wins (Creighton) came against an NCAA Tournament team. They were limited to 52 points in a quarterfinal loss to UConn.
In the last weeks of the season, TCU solidified its standing with wins over both Texas Tech and Kansas. It also beat Texas in the Big 12 Tournament before falling to Kansas in a rematch during the tournament semifinals.
Next. Most likely to win it all. dark
It’s been 35 years since the TCU Horned Frogs have won an NCAA Tournament game. The Seton Hall Pirates won a game in 2018. It’s as close to a toss-up as we’re getting in the First Round and this toss-up belongs to TCU.
Prediction: TCU 67, Seton Hall 65