3 Things About The Hall's Wednesday Visit to Xavier

2018 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (10-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) at Xavier Musketeers (9-5, 1-0 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Wednesday, January 2 \| 6:30 p.m. \| Cintas Center (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Television Broadcast	FS1 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| XM 384 \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Xavier
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hey, in case you forgot since it technically happened last year, here was the final score from last Saturday:

Seton Hall 76, St. John's 74

Need visual evidence that that was the final score? Here you go:

Moving on, the Pirates' schedule was very difficult in the non-conference season, and it was built to challenge the student-athletes and prepare them for the rigors of BIG EAST play.

Now we are in the rigors of BIG EAST play. After surviving against the a talented St. John's team, The Hall must now navigate the rough waters of playing conference road games. Four of the next five are away from home, to be exact, and it begins with Wednesday at a tough Xavier squad that always plays well in raucous Cintas Center.

Road wins are like gold in the BIG EAST, and it's a big reason why Seton Hall was a solid NCAA Tournament team over the last three seasons. The Pirates have won 13 BIG EAST road games since Dec. 30, 2015; that's actually tied for the third most road wins in the conference in that span:

Villanova 21-6
Xavier 17-10
Seton Hall 13-14
Butler 13-14
Providence 13-14
Creighton 12-15
Marquette 11-16
Georgetown 7-20
DePaul 5-22
St. John's 4-23

Wednesday's contest can be seen nationally on FS1 with Justin Kutcher and Donny Marshall saying words into microphones for your viewing pleasure. If the radio is your medium of choice, we have Dave Popkin on play-by-play and Ohio's biggest Skyline Chili fan John Fanta on color airing on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on XM384 and the Pirate Sports Network.

Three Things to Know About Wednesday's Road Game at Xavier

1. A Streak's on the Line
After beating St. John's -- and we can't stress enough that Seton Hall won the game -- the Pirates are on a six-game winning streak, and it's the sixth time under head coach Kevin Willard that the Pirates have won at least six in a row. In the previous five six-game winning streaks, the Pirates extended the run to seven straight victories four times:

2011-12 season, Pirates won at Dayton to extend winning streak to seven games (streak lasted eight games)
2012-13 season, Pirates won at DePaul to extend winning streak to seven games (ended after seven games)
2014-15 season, Pirates defeated Rutgers to extend winning streak to seven games (ended after seven games)
2015-16 season, Pirates defeated DePaul to extend winning streak to seven games (ended after seven games)
2016-17 season, Pirates lost at Creighton to snap winning streak at six games

2. Find the Second Scorer
During this six-game winning streak, the Pirates have had different people step up to become the second scorer behind Myles Powell, who is averaging 22.5 points per game. Quincy McKnight scored 18 vs. New Hampshire. Myles Cale had 17 points vs. Kentucky and 23 at Maryland. Sandro Mamukelashvili had 15 vs. Rutgers and 23 vs. Sacred Heart. Michael Nzei delivered 14 points as part of a double-double vs. St. John's. Clearly, The Hall has the personnel to step up and help Powell. Who will be the hot hand on the road Wednesday?

3. Contain Xavier's Three-Point Shooting
Xavier's three-point shooting percentage in wins vs losses is strikingly different. In their nine wins, the Musketeers are shooting 37.8 percent from behind the arc. In their five losses, they are shooting 28.3 percent from deep. The Pirates will want to make Xavier uncomfortable on the perimeter and force bad shots.