Free College Basketball Picks Today: Seton Hall Pirates vs Xavier Musketeers 2/24/23

The Seton Hall Pirates (16-12, 9-8 Big East) will try to slow down one of the country’s top scoring teams when they play host to the No. 16 Xavier Musketeers (20-8, 12-5 Big East) on Friday. Xavier was edged out by the Villanova Wildcats 64-63 at Cintas Center on Tuesday.

Souley Boum was the top scorer in the loss with 17 points. Jerome Hunter chipped in with 14 points. The Musketeers are fourth in the Big East Conference.

Seton Hall came up short on Saturday at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, falling to the UConn Huskies 64-55. Tyrese Samuel had 16 points in the loss, carrying the team. The Pirates are sixth in the Big East Conference.This marks the final meeting of the season between the teams.

After taking the only previous season game against Seton Hall 73-70 at Cintas Center in December 2022, Xavier will be aiming for a season sweep. Zach Freemantle led the Musketeers with 23 points, while Colby Jones contributed 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks.

Kadary Richmond had 17 points in the loss.Boum (16.3 ppg), Jack Nunge (14.6), and Jones (14.0) have led the Musketeers in scoring this season. Nunge also has grabbed 8.0 rebounds per game, while Boum has dished 4.6 assists per game.

Al-Amir Dawes (12.7 ppg) and Samuel (10.9) have supplied much of the Pirates’ offense. Samuel also has pulled down 5.8 rebounds per game. Richmond has doled out 3.9 assists per game.

The Musketeers rank as one of the most explosive offenses in the country, 14th-best with 81.9 points per game.In the last 10 games, Xavier is 5-5 with an average margin of +3.5 (77.7-74.2).

For the season, the Musketeers are averaging 81.9 points per game, compared to 74.8 for opponents. Seton Hall has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 66.1 points per game on average while allowing 65.7 (+0.4 margin).

MUSKETEERS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jerome Hunter: 19.4 | 12.3 | +7.1
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 21.4 | -21.4
Points per game:
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 12.4 | -12.4
Rebounds per game:
Colby Jones: 7.0 | 5.0 | +2.0
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 6.6 | -6.6
Assists per game:
Souley Boum: 2.4 | 4.6 | -2.2

PIRATES HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Dre Davis: 0.0 | 8.6 | -8.6
Points per game:
Al-Amir Dawes: 16.0 | 12.7 | +3.3
Rebounds per game:
Kadary Richmond: 3.4 | 5.0 | -1.6