Providence Friars vs. Seton Hall Pirates Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – February 25, 2016

The Seton Hall Pirates have been one of the best teams in the Big East alongside Villanova and Xavier. The same can no longer be said about the Providence Friars, though, as they’ve dropped out of the AP Poll Top 25 due to a series of disappointing losses.

Will the Pirates beat Providence for the second time this season? Or will the Friars rise above .500 in conference play and level their regular season series with Seton Hall?

Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our preview of Indiana vs. Illinois.

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Providence Friars vs. Seton Hall Pirates Preview

Where: Walsh Gymnasium, South Orange

When: Thursday, February 25, 7:00 PM ET

Line: Providence Friars at Seton Hall Pirates – view all NCAA Basketball lines

TV Broadcast: FOX Sports 1

Betting on the Providence Friars (19-8, 7-7 Big East)

The sky is falling for the Friars. That’s one way of looking at Providence’s status, as the team has lost four of its last five games. That includes the Friars’ 85-74 loss to No. 8 Xavier on Wednesday.

Providence’s defense this season isn’t that great to begin with, but the Friars have managed to be even more disappointing in the past five games, wherein they’ve surrendered 80.4 points. On the season, they are giving up 69.9 points per contest.

At least the Friars’ dependable duo of Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil isn’t slowing down. Dunn was fantastic in the loss to Xavier, scoring 23 points, grabbing 11 boards, and dishing off six assists. Bentil, on the other hand, had 17 points and six boards. The tandem combined for 37 points and 14 rebounds when the Friars lost to Seton Hall on January 16.

The Friars have been stroking it well from deep lately, as they’ve knocked down an average of 9.7 threes in their past three games. They even had 12 three-pointers in the Xavier game. The Friars shot a poor 5-for-25 from the three-point area in the earlier meeting with Seton Hall but their recent outside shooting form should encourage Dunn and company to attempt those long bombs.

The Friars, who are putting up 74.1 points per game this season, are 7-3 SU and ATS in their last 10 road games.

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Betting on the Seton Hall Pirates (19-7, 9-5 Big East)

The Pirates almost paid a high price for their overconfidence.  Seton Hall was up by as high as 19 against St. John’s on Sunday, but squandered it and even let the Red Storm take the lead late before escaping with a 63-62 victory.

A loss to St. John’s, ranked 211th in the RPI, would’ve been detrimental to the National Tournament hopes of the Pirates, who haven’t joined the Big Dance in 10 years. With that behind them, the Pirates will now turn their attention to the struggling Friars.

Seton Hall is being carried by its exceptional defense that is currently ranked 53rd in the nation with just 66.5 points allowed per game. KenPom has Seton Hall placed higher in terms of defensive efficiency, as the Friars are 21st overall in that metric.

This kind of defense should make it tougher to score for Providence, which is already dealing with troubles shooting the ball. The Friars have made just 38.3 percent of their shots in the past three games. Note that Providence shot an ugly 30.1% from the field in the previous matchup with Seton Hall.

Isaiah Whitehead, the Pirates’ leading scorer (16.6 points per game), is looking to bounce back following a 10-point effort against St. John’s. He had 15 points and seven assists the last time out against Providence.

Seton Hall is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games overall.