Game #17
	vs.
(10-5, 1-2)		(14-2, 2-1)
January 10th, 2012
The Prudential Center, Newark, NY
7:00PM
ESPN3
Probable Starters
Brandon Young	PG	Jordan Theodore
Jeremiah Kelly	SG	Aaron Cosby
Jamee Crocket	SF	Fuquan Edwin
Cleveland Melvin	PF	Patrik Auda
Krys Faber	C	Herb Pope
Twitter
@SOrangeJuice, @JPGuerette, @robertmanganaro
Opening Line (Seton Hall -12.5)

The 24th ranked Seton Hall Pirates will attempt to stay undefeated at home, while also recording their fourth conference victory of the season as they welcome the DePaul Blue Demons to the Rock, this evening. The Associated Press got their voting right yesterday, because, you know, they actually watch the games, whereas the Coaches absolutely butchered their USA Today/ESPN today rankings. Despite getting robbed, on second thought, splitting the polls might actually be a positive for these young Pirates. The players receive a sense of gratification that their hard work is being recognized while keeping confidence high, but it does leave a chip on their shoulders as some folks still aren't buying in. That's not to say they wouldn't be as prepared if they were ranked in both polls, but I don't think it's uncommon for collegiate athletes to kick it up an extra notch when they feel slighted.

Ranked or unranked, it's imperative that Pirates keep their heads down, stay focused and get back to playing good basketball. I say, "get back," as they clearly didn't have their best stuff and shot poorly in Providence. As mentioned Saturday night, good teams will win those games, but good teams don't find themselves in that position regularly. Seton Hall will need to play at a higher level offensively than what we saw against the Friars because as Jordan Theodore stated, they've now got the target on their back. The Pirates begin a four game stretch where they'll be favored in every contest, including two road tilts, but as Coach Willard pointed out, they've suddenly became a, "good win," instead of a, "bad loss." Their opponents will come out swinging.

As always, Let's Go Hall!