The Seton Hall Pirates will look to get back to their winning ways when they take on the Xavier Musketeers in Big East Conference action on Friday. The Pirates (16-12, 9-8 Big East), who are 1-3 in their last four games, are coming off a 64-55 loss at No. 20 UConn on Saturday. The Musketeers (20-8, 12-5), who have struggled after senior forward Zach Freemantle went down with a foot injury, have lost three of four, including a 64-63 loss to Villanova on Tuesday. The Pirates are 9-4 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., this season, including 5-3 in Big East games.
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET. Xavier is averaging 81.9 points per game, while Seton Hall averages 68.3. The Musketeers are -1.5 in the latest Xavier vs. Seton Hall odds, while the over/under for total points scored is set at 142.5. Before making any Seton Hall vs. Xavier picks, you need to check out what college basketball expert Matt Severance has to say.
Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. Over the past two college basketball seasons, he is 391-286 (plus $2,714). Severance has been on a roll thus far during the 2022-23 college basketball season, going 114-66-1 (plus $2,482) in his last 181 college basketball picks. Anyone following him is way up.
Now, he has his sights on Xavier vs. Seton Hall. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Seton Hall vs. Xavier:
- Xavier vs. Seton Hall spread: Xavier -1.5
- Xavier vs. Seton Hall over/under: 142.5 points
- Xavier vs. Seton Hall money line: Xavier -125, Seton Hall +105
- XAV: The under is 4-0 in the Musketeers' last four games overall
- SH: The Pirates are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games following a straight-up loss
- Xavier vs. Seton Hall picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Seton Hall can cover
Junior guard Kadary Richmond, who missed most of Saturday's game with Connecticut due to a back injury, is hoping to get back on the court against Xavier. Richmond had gone eight consecutive games with double-digit scoring prior to that, posting two double-doubles during that stretch. He scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in an 84-72 win at St. John's on Feb. 1. He scored 18 points and hauled down 10 boards in a 67-66 win over Connecticut. For the season, Richmond is averaging 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and two steals.
Senior forward KC Ndefo continues to give the Pirates valuable minutes, and has started 27 of 28 games. The transfer from St. Peter's is averaging 7.9 points, five rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 assists per game. He is coming off a 13-point and five-rebound performance at UConn on Saturday. Ndefo has one double-double on the year, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds at DePaul in a 71-67 win on Jan. 14.
Why Xavier can cover
Senior guard Souley Boum leads the Musketeers, averaging 16.3 points, 4.6 assists, four rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He is also red hot from the floor, connecting on 45.5% of his field goals, including 41.1% from 3-point range, and 86.5% from the foul line. He is coming off a 17-point and four-rebound effort against Villanova on Tuesday. In a 69-68 loss at Marquette on Feb. 15, Boum poured in 24 points, while grabbing five rebounds.
With Freemantle sidelined, senior forward Jack Nunge will look to pick up some of the offensive slack. He is coming off back-to-back double-doubles. He scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Tuesday's loss to Villanova and had 18 points and 10 rebounds against DePaul in an 82-68 triumph on Saturday. For the season, he has posted nine double-doubles, and is averaging 14.6 points, eight rebounds, two assists and 1.2 blocks per game.
How to make Xavier vs. Seton Hall picks
For Friday's matchup, Severance is leaning Over the total, but he also says a critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back. See what it is at SportsLine.
Who wins Seton Hall vs. Xavier? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on Tuesday, all from the expert who is on a huge college basketball roll, and find out.
