Creighton vs Seton Hall Game Preview

[XUFan09]

I don't think the non-conference shoould mostly decide bids, but the non-conference has set Creighton up as the #2 team and Seton Hall as the #9 team in terms of efficiency statistics. That is such a huge difference. I appreciate the concept of "a new season" (Xavier generally takes that philosophy) and I understand that injuries have marred Seton Hall's season so far, but I just can't consider this specific matchup a toss-up in terms of who to root for. Your game against Providence was a tossup for me, but not this one. In a highly improbable poor conference season, Creighton still would be 10-8 or 9-9. In a league crowded with solid teams, even that doesn't seem remotely likely for a healthy Seton Hall squad.

[TheHall]

Again I do get the point in this example, but still it won't necessarily play out that way. No one outside of a Seton Hall fan would have said they considered the last game a toss up 2 weeks ago, but things happen. Not saying I'm wishing injuries or suspensions or transfers on anyone, but just like SHU & PC have had it rough early who's to say that other programs won't get some later. Saying let the games play it out for a while takes all that into consideration. The season is a war of attrition as much as is about talent & coaching IMO. It's like golf just because you're leading on thursday or even friday doesn't mean you will even be relevant on Sunday...and there could be a million different reasons why.

[XU85]

Again I do get the point in this example, but still it won't necessarily play out that way. No one outside of a Seton Hall fan would have said they considered the last game a toss up 2 weeks ago, but things happen. Not saying I'm wishing injuries or suspensions or transfers on anyone, but just like SHU & PC have had it rough early who's to say that other programs won't get some later. Saying let the games play it out for a while takes all that into consideration. The season is a war of attrition as much as is about talent & coaching IMO. It's like golf just because you're leading on thursday or even friday doesn't mean you will even be relevant on Sunday...and there could be a million different reasons why.

But unlike golf, the only way Seton Hall can get better is by leeching RPI strength from teams who have performed better. As others have stated, it's in the best interest of the league if the better teams beat The Hall. It's nothing personal. As such, I will be rooting for Creighton tomorrow.

[Friarfan2]

Golf tournament analogy is a good one.

You can't win a golf tournament on thuirsday, but you can lose one.

This is like a golf tournament where seton hall shot an 85 on day one and the leaders shot mid-60's.

Meanwhile, Creighton is on the board, but a loss to seton hall would be like a quadruple bogey. It isn't going to get the hall back in contention, but it will knock creighton down a notch.

[handdownmandown]

If CU were to be in SHU's current position I would completely expect the members of the teams that have a more realistic shot at the Tourney to hope we lose. In fact, we might be in that position next season after losing 4 starters, but I'm hoping we won't fall all that far in the pecking order. I'd be rooting like heck for Creighton, but I wouldn't begrudge those that feel otherwise.

So of course SHU fans should hope they win such an amount of games that they prove the other league teams wrong, but let's face it, it's not like the opinion that SHU and DePaul need to not take games off of the contending teams is lacking in evidence.

[XUFan09]

Again I do get the point in this example, but still it won't necessarily play out that way. No one outside of a Seton Hall fan would have said they considered the last game a toss up 2 weeks ago, but things happen. Not saying I'm wishing injuries or suspensions or transfers on anyone, but just like SHU & PC have had it rough early who's to say that other programs won't get some later. Saying let the games play it out for a while takes all that into consideration. The season is a war of attrition as much as is about talent & coaching IMO. It's like golf just because you're leading on thursday or even friday doesn't mean you will even be relevant on Sunday...and there could be a million different reasons why.

I said it was a toss up in terms of who to root for. I predicted Providence to win, but I wasn't really rooting for either team, because the difference between them wasn't great enough. Providence shifting around in the back end of the RPI top 100 doesn't really change things much for teams with a good chance of a tournament berth. Creighton, on the other hand, has a chance of being a top 25 win for whichever bubble team manages to beat them. If they lose to Seton Hall, it will be much harder for them to finish in the RPI top 25 range, and they'll more likely fall to the 26-50 range. And that's true even if Seton Hall plays fairly well in the conference schedule.

I will say this...Seton Hall is probably going to have the right combination of desperation and decent talent (with a healthy lineup) to be a threat in the conference tournament.