Seton Hall Pirates vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, Odds & Picks

Another edition of the Garden State Hardwood Classic will take place on Saturday afternoon as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will host the Seton Hall Pirates at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway. While this game may not be a massive tournament resume booster for either side, this is always a fun rivalry game as it is played with extreme physicality and the tougher team usually comes out on top. Rutgers has had an up and down start to the year as they have a 6-4 record with wins over Notre Dame and Penn State, but also have a brutal road loss to Kennesaw State to go along with 3 other losses to teams of high quality. As for Seton Hall, you could say the same is true for them, but there have been more downsides than upsides. The Pirates have solid wins over VCU and Florida Atlantic, but have suffered some very bad home losses to Fordham and Monmouth as double-digit favorites, essentially eliminating their at-large bid chances. But getting Seton Hall as an underdog is far more exciting than relying on them to win by a margin.

It’s never fun backing a team that ranks 305th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rating, but that’s the side we’ll be looking at here for a few reasons. First, the defensive minded and slow nature of pirates should almost always keep them alive when going up in class. The length and versatility of Shaheen Holloway’s defense will give Rutgers star Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey a tough time when it comes to scoring off the bounce and getting to the basket, the 2 areas they excel at. Seton Hall will force Rutgers’ other pieces to beat them, and they haven’t inspired much confidence in the perimeter scoring department at all. Second, Shaheen Holloway-coached teams are 25-12 ATS (68%) as a 5.5 or more point underdog (BetLabs), further showing that his teams can always play up against higher-level competition. In a rivalry game, expect the Pirates to give their 100% effort and keep this game close in Piscataway.

Seton Hall vs. Rutgers: Seton Hall +11.5 (-110) at time of release. Can be played on that track.

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