Seton Hall Begins BIG EAST Tournament Push Thursday vs. St. John's

BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals

Game 26: [5] Seton Hall Pirates (13-12, 10-9 BIG EAST) vs. [4] St. John's Red Storm (16-10, 10-9 BIG EAST)

Thursday, March 11 • Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.) • 3 p.m.

TV: FS1 with Tim Brando & Jim Jackson

Web: FOX Sports Live

Radio: AM970 / Pirate Sports Network & TuneIn with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin

Tournament Bracket

Game Notes: Seton Hall | St. John's

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NEW YORK - The month of March, college basketball and Madison Square Garden are the perfect combination. Seton Hall has had some great moments in March here at The World's Most Famous Arena. The game-winners from Oliver Taylor (1991), Sterling Gibbs (2014) and Isaiah Whitehead (2016) to beat Villanova; defeating Syracuse by 33 points to capture the 1993 tournament title; Myles Powell's 29 first-half points against Georgetown; upsetting Georgetown to reach its first-ever semifinal in 1988; the wild affair with Marquette just two years ago.

It's truly the best time of the year, and it serves as a reset for the Pirates. Forget what has happened the last three weeks, the mission is clear: three wins in three days to earn a championship.

It starts Thursday with a rematch against St. John's. After not facing the Red Storm for 85 days, now the Pirates face them again five days after the Johnnies won at Carnesecca Arena, 81-71. The old saying is it's tough to beat the same team back-to-back. Seton Hall has had success as a program in those back-to-backs; in four other instances of ending the regular season and starting the BIG EAST Tournament against the same team, the Pirates are 3-1 in those tournament games.

The Pirates will need a turn-back-the-clock defensive effort to get past St. John's. The Pirates are at their best when they keep their opponents under 70 points. Twelve of their 13 wins this season have come with holding their foes under 70.

Thursday's game will be nationally televised on FS1 with Tim Brando and Jim Jackson on the call. Although his entrance music, "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" by The Ramones, won't be playing, Gary Cohen is returning to handle radio play-by-play alongside his top-notch colorman Dave Popkin on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network and TuneIn.