2018-19 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (16-10, 7-7 BIG EAST) at St. John's Red Storm (19-8, 7-7 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Saturday, Feb. 23 \| 8 p.m. \| Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
Tickets	Ticketmaster.com
Television Broadcast	FS1 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	WMCA 570 AM \| XM 380 \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| St. John's
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram

We see that on Twitter, St. John's is dubbing this game "The Rematch."

Hold on a second...

🙄

Whatever floats St. John's' boat. Seton Hall won the first meeting, 76-74. Shavar Reynolds Jr. hit the game-winning three-pointer. That's all that is going into the record books.

But no matter what rally cry St. John's chooses, Saturday night's game at Madison Square Garden is a big one. Both teams are 7-7, and the winner of the game will have sole possession of third place and likely the tiebreaker in case the two teams finish tied. For Seton Hall, another quadrant one victory would be huge as well.

There is palpable buzz for the contest, and consider this: Seton Hall and St. John's have not both finished in the top half of the BIG EAST standings since 2000. That's almost 20 years since both teams were "good" at the same time. To take it one step further, here are the only times that both teams finished in the top half of the conference:

2000: St. John's 12-4 (3rd); Seton Hall 10-6 (T-4th)
1998: St. John's 13-5 (2nd); Seton Hall 9-9 (6th)
1993: Seton Hall 14-4 (1st); St. John's 12-6 (2nd)
1992: Seton Hall 12-6 (T-1st); St. John's 12-6 (T-1st)
1991: St. John's 10-6 (2nd); Seton Hall 9-7 (T-3rd)

Saturday night's main event will be an FS1 national telecast with Tim "I'm not Brian Custer" Brando and Len Elmore on the call. Dave Popkin will have the play-by-play, and, popcorn vendors beware, John Fanta will be the color analyst on the radio broadcast that includes the exclusive Kevin Willard pregame report on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on XM 380 and the Pirate Sports Network.

Despite last night's defeat, we now have 11 Quad 1+2 wins:

3-6 vs. Quad 1
8-1 vs. Quad 2

Total Record: 11-7

Only 19 teams in the country have at least 11 Quad 1+2 wins. #HALLin
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 21, 2019

Three Things to Know About Saturday Night's Clash at Madison Square Garden

1. 70 is the Number
Seton Hall's magic number to win games is 70 points. When the Pirates score 70 points, they are 13-2. They are 13-0 when they score 70 or more against teams not named DePaul. The Hall needs to generate enough offense to meet this milestone while also defending a potent Johnnies offense that is averaging 78.5 points per game.

2. Seton Hall is Used to Garden Magic
Is there something in the air or in the freight elevator at Madison Square Garden? Seton Hall is 11-5 at MSG since March 2014, and the average margin of victory in those 16 games is 5.2 points. Eight of the 16 games have been decided by three points or fewer, including an 84-83 win over No. 9 Kentucky here back in December. Two very even teams in the building built for big time basketball. Get ready for another classic.

3. Keep an Eye on the Point Guards
In the first matchup, Quincy McKnight was incredible when defending Red Storm star point guard Shamorie Ponds. McKnight held Ponds to eight points on 2-for-13 shooting. Right now, Ponds is in a bit of a slump, averaging only 9.7 points and shooting only 22.9 percent from the field over the last three games. Can McKnight take advantage of Ponds' struggles and keep him at bay again?