Seton Hall vs Xavier Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/31/24

The Seton Hall Pirates and the Xavier Musketeers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the Cintas Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Seton Hall vs. Xavier prediction.

Seton Hall Recap

The Seton Hall Pirates come into this game looking to bounce back after ending up with a narrow 61-60 loss at the hands of Georgetown in their last matchup. After this game, Seton Hall will take on the DePaul, Providence, Butler, and St. John’s.

Pirates Lose 4th In A Row

Isaiah Coleman leads the Pirates in scoring and rebounding with 13.9 PPG and 5 RPG while Chaunce Jenkins has 11.5 PPG with 4.2 RPG as the only other double-digit scorer for Seton Hall so far this season. Dylan Addae-Wusu has 8.7 PPG with 2.8 APG to lead the Pirates in assists along with 1.8 SPG as well. As a team, Seton Hall is averaging 60.8 PPG on 39.7% shooting from the field, 33% from three, and 61.8% from the foul line this season.

Why the Seton Hall Pirates will win

• Xavier has lost six of its last seven day games against the Big East Conference.

Xavier Recap

The Xavier Musketeers come into this game looking to defend home court after falling just short against Marquette after a 72-70 loss last time out. After this game, Xavier will head on the road for a matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas.

Musketeers Drop 3rd Straight

Zach Freemantle leads the Musketeers in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 PPG and 7.7 RPG but remains out indefinitely with injury, while Ryan Conwell added 16.2 PPG with 2.2 APG and Dayvion McKnight has 11.2 PPG with a team-high 4.7 APG to lead the Musketeers in assists up to this point in the year, rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for Xavier so far this season. Marcus Foster’s also added 8.8 PPG with 4.2 RPG and 2.4 APG while Dailyn Swain has 8.7 PPG with 4.9 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Xavier is averaging 79.6 PPG on 46.9% shooting from the field, 40.1% from three, and 78.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the Xavier Musketeers will win

• Xavier has won each of its last 11 day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Seton Hall has lost each of its last four games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Xavier’s last 12 games against Conference opponents has produced a total of 138+ points.
• Eight of Seton Hall’s last nine games at Cintas Center have produced a total of 142+ points.

Seton Hall vs. Xavier Prediction

I’m taking Seton Hall and the points here. Don’t get me wrong, backing Seton Hall in basketball for the next little bit has a good chance of taking years off of your life and it’ll make you want to pull your hair out with how frustrating the Pirates are offensively. However, what the Pirates lack offensively, they make up for in toughness and physicality on the defensive end of the floor, and the Pirates have done a decent job of dragging teams down and bringing them down to their level and into the mud. Just ask Georgetown. Xavier’s a solid team but I have less faith in this team without Freemantle as he’s usually the key cog of that offense and without him, I’ve seen Xavier stall far more often than not despite the fact that you’d think they’d be used to life without him by now considering his injury history. All in all, I think Seton Hall can keep this one somewhat close so give me the Pirates and the points.