Pre-Duel Pleasantries: Seton Hall

On Wednesday, your Musketeers face off against #19 Seton Hall in a pivotal home game. Last weekend did not go as planned, so let's hope for the best against our visitors from New Jersey. By this point in the year you already know what to expect from the Musketeers, but what about the visitors? Lucky for you, we sat down with our friends over at South Orange Juice and asked them the hard hitting questions. Let's get started.

1.) South Orange Juice! Great to see you again. How does it feel to be #19 in the country right now?

A little weird. Going into the season, the upper tier of expectations for Seton Hall were around bubble-IN, and most of the talk during the non-conference revolved around the team setting itself up for Selection Sunday. Now after a week in conference play, the team is in the top-25 instead of a predicted 0-2 start to the Big East.

2.) Congrats on the win over Villanova last Saturday. Your team has been making a big splash. What has been the key to your success?

The guard play over the last two games has been very good, especially considering the loss of Isaiah Whitehead to a stress fracture. Seton Hall has responded much better than expected since Whitehead's injury and some think the team has played better without the star freshman guard. Khadeen Carrington and Sterling Gibbs have really stepped up in his absence while another guard, Jaren Sina, broke out of a cold shooting streak against St. John's.

Seton Hall has some depth at guard though. Without freshman Angel Delgado giving it 100% at the center position, I'm not sure where this team would be.

3.) Currently Joe Lunardi has 7 Big East teams making the NCAA tournament. Do you agree with the expert Bracketologist? Also, where do you see Seton Hall finishing in the Big East this season?

I guess the Big East has seven teams worthy of the field at this point, but I don't think that'll be the case come March (I'm thinking five). These sort of projections don't hold much weight until early February.

I had Seton Hall sixth in the Big East prior to the season, which looks like an underestimation at this point. I still think they finish fourth at best, the team has not proven it can win on the road yet.

4.) This game in in Cincinnati and this city is known for it's "Cincinnati style chili". Have you ever had this delicacy and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

I have not, I had to consult Google on this one. I've had chili on spaghetti, but prefer my chili spicy, not sweet (cinnamon, chocolate??).

5.) Did you fight the terrorists and watch The Interview?

I have not.

6.) Last season y'all gave us an extremely friendly welcome to the Big East and beat us twice. Will the streak continue on Wednesday night or will Xavier win the game?

Until Seton Hall proves they can get it done on the road (they weren't competitive against Wichita State until late, and Georgia throughout), I'm skeptical of their chances. However, Xavier's season has been marred in inconsistencies and their style of play isn't terrible for the Hall to match up with, so it looks like a prime opportunity to notch a road victory.