This is just like the Indiana Purdue game with a similar spread but a better spot.
With Indiana, you don't know if they'll spit the bit and get crushed in a lifeless loss. I can promise you that will not happen with Seton Hall here.
The reasons to back the Hall are as follows:
1. Favorable Line
You cannot give points in this rivalry (of red-headed stepchild nature, Jersey's Seton Hall in the shadow of NYC's St. John's).
Seton Hall played them tooth and nail in the last match-up and won by 2 on a three at the buzzer.
Prior to that, they won in OT Q MSG the year prior where the largest lead was 6 by SH, a game with 20+ lead changes.
Every point in valuable in such a match-up particularly when the stakes are this high.
2. How high are the stakes?
Not so high for St. John's as they are going dancing regardless. For Seton Hall, it's a near must win as they would have to go 3-0 in their final 3 games to be assured a tournament selection, assuming they don't win the conference tournament. The three left are all very challenging in Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova.
If Seton Hall loses here they have a losing conference record and will have to make up a lot of ground to be smiled on by the committee. Win this game and build momentum for the home stretch. I say SH leaves it all out on the floor, kitchen sink throw included, making +4 points VERY attractive.
2. Seton Hall loves playing @ MSG
2-1 SU in their last three at St. John's in MSG.
9-3 SU in their last 12 @ MSG including the thriller over Kentucky by one earlier this year.
This is just like the Indiana Purdue game with a similar spread but a better spot.
With Indiana, you don't know if they'll spit the bit and get crushed in a lifeless loss. I can promise you that will not happen with Seton Hall here.
The reasons to back the Hall are as follows:
1. Favorable Line
You cannot give points in this rivalry (of red-headed stepchild nature, Jersey's Seton Hall in the shadow of NYC's St. John's).
Seton Hall played them tooth and nail in the last match-up and won by 2 on a three at the buzzer.
Prior to that, they won in OT Q MSG the year prior where the largest lead was 6 by SH, a game with 20+ lead changes.
Every point in valuable in such a match-up particularly when the stakes are this high.
2. How high are the stakes?
Not so high for St. John's as they are going dancing regardless. For Seton Hall, it's a near must win as they would have to go 3-0 in their final 3 games to be assured a tournament selection, assuming they don't win the conference tournament. The three left are all very challenging in Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova.
If Seton Hall loses here they have a losing conference record and will have to make up a lot of ground to be smiled on by the committee. Win this game and build momentum for the home stretch. I say SH leaves it all out on the floor, kitchen sink throw included, making +4 points VERY attractive.
2. Seton Hall loves playing @ MSG
2-1 SU in their last three at St. John's in MSG.
9-3 SU in their last 12 @ MSG including the thriller over Kentucky by one earlier this year.
St. John's fans know this: Their recent struggles (5-7 in their last 12 games after starting the season 12-0, losing their first to Seton Hall),
can be directly attributed to Shamorie Pond's downfall of late.
That recent downfall is as follows:
Ponds, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, has hit a major funk, averaging just 12.2 points, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals over the past four games. The 6-foot-1 guard is shooting just 28.8 percent from the field in that stretch and hasn’t hit a 3-pointer in the past two games, the first time he has failed to convert from deep in consecutive games this year.
This should be the time of year Ponds is dropping 30 in all-important games, scoring late clutch baskets and he literally is playing his worst ball of the past two years, serving as a liability at the most crucial time. Again +4 when he's missing late shots is a good thing.
4. We are uncharacteristically fading the all-important Double Revenge Angle
Seton Hall won a controversial game earlier this year and an OT game in the final match-up last year.
While I love revenge angles, there's a time to jump on board and a time to leave this angle wavering in the wind. This time around we don't have to win in what is destined to be a back and forth game that goes to the wire, with 2 baskets in our back pocket, forcing St. John's to win by 5. That's too much.
This line also looks like the books are begging you to take the Johnnies in a revenge spot in a spread I though would be closer to 6.
St. John's fans know this: Their recent struggles (5-7 in their last 12 games after starting the season 12-0, losing their first to Seton Hall),
can be directly attributed to Shamorie Pond's downfall of late.
That recent downfall is as follows:
Ponds, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, has hit a major funk, averaging just 12.2 points, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals over the past four games. The 6-foot-1 guard is shooting just 28.8 percent from the field in that stretch and hasn’t hit a 3-pointer in the past two games, the first time he has failed to convert from deep in consecutive games this year.
This should be the time of year Ponds is dropping 30 in all-important games, scoring late clutch baskets and he literally is playing his worst ball of the past two years, serving as a liability at the most crucial time. Again +4 when he's missing late shots is a good thing.
4. We are uncharacteristically fading the all-important Double Revenge Angle
Seton Hall won a controversial game earlier this year and an OT game in the final match-up last year.
While I love revenge angles, there's a time to jump on board and a time to leave this angle wavering in the wind. This time around we don't have to win in what is destined to be a back and forth game that goes to the wire, with 2 baskets in our back pocket, forcing St. John's to win by 5. That's too much.
This line also looks like the books are begging you to take the Johnnies in a revenge spot in a spread I though would be closer to 6.
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