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Big East Basketball: 10 biggest storylines and questions for 2022-23 season

By Tristan Freeman

CINCINNATI, OHIO - FEBRUARY 16: Posh Alexander #0 of the St. John's Red Storm dribbles the ball in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on February 16, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - FEBRUARY 16: Posh Alexander #0 of the St. John's Red Storm dribbles the ball in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on February 16, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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Big East Basketball Kadary Richmond Seton Hall Pirates (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

8. Seton Hall’s ability to score

After head coach Kevin Willard left for the open Maryland job, the Pirates were able to hire Shaheen Holloway, who led the 15-seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks to a historical Elite 8 appearance this past season. His style is about having a strong defense and balanced scoring throughout the rotation.

Seton Hall’s roster fits what Coach Holloway wants to do, thanks to the incoming transfers. Former Pitt combo guard Femi Odukale is a 6’5 playmaker that has real defensive potential, while Dre Davis and Al-Amir Dawes add needed scoring depth in the backcourt. Coach was able to get his best player to follow him in KC Ndefo, a multiple-time Defensive Player of the Year at the MAAC level.

The question for the Pirates is simply where the scoring production will come from. The top returning scorers from last season are Kadary Richmond and Alexis Yetna, neither of whom scored more than 8.8 ppg. And while Dawes and Odukale were double-digit scorers at their previous stops, they won’t have the same kind of usage rates here at Seton Hall.

The team’s best defenders aren’t great scorers so this could be a case where they’ll have to win in the low-60s on the final score. They’ll be a difficult team to score on but if they don’t figure out who’ll replace Jared Rhoden and Bryce Aiken offensively, they’ll be vulnerable to losing a lot of games.

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