3 Things about No. 18 Seton Hall Visiting No. 5 Butler Wednesday

2019-20 BIG EAST Game No. 18 Seton Hall Pirates (12-4, 4-0 BIG EAST) at No. 5 Butler Bulldogs (15-1, 3-0 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Wednesday, Jan. 15 \| 6:30 p.m. \| Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Television Broadcast	FS1 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	WMCA 570 AM \| XM 381 \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Butler
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Instagram

To be prepared to win in March, you have to challenge yourself early, and it's fair to say that both Seton Hall and Butler have done so. As of Jan. 13, Seton Hall has played 11 games against teams that qualify for "Quad One" or "Quad Two" status in the NCAA NET rankings. Butler has played 10 games. Furthermore, Seton Hall's eight "Quad One" games played are tied for second-most in the nation behind only Kansas' nine. Butler only has five games against "Quad One" but the Bulldogs are 4-1 in those opportunities.

So maybe it should be no surprise that these two teams are the last unbeaten BIG EAST teams standing. They've been battle tested.

Both teams are riding six-game winning streaks and both teams have a chance to add to their "Quad One" resume. Should be a fun 40 minutes at Hinkle.

Wednesday's showdown will be televised on FS1 with Tim Brando and Nick Bahe on the call. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will take you through the two-hour battle via the radio airwaves on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on XM 381 and the Pirate Sports Network.

Three Things to Know About Wednesday's Road Trip to Butler

1. Elite Defenses Will be On Display
In terms of KenPom defensive efficiency, this is a battle between two top-10 teams. Butler is No. 6 in the nation, and the Pirates are No. 10. Butler has not allowed an opponent to score 70 points in a game ALL SEASON. Moreover, only four teams have cracked 60 on the Bulldogs: Wofford (61), Stanford (67), Florida (62) and Purdue (61). Now part of that is the pace that Butler chooses to play at; the Bulldogs are 330th out of 353 teams in tempo. But the other part is just really good defense. Opponents are shooting only 36.8 percent against Butler overall, 26.2 percent from three. The Pirates are right behind the Bulldogs in most of the numbers and their specialty has been holding teams under their season average for scoring. They held Maryland 29 points under their season average, Marquette 23 points under and Georgetown 18 points under.

2. The Second Half at Hinkle is Always Wild
The last three trips to Hinkle Fieldhouse have been must-see television in the second half for the Pirates. In 2017, they were down 10 points with 7:03 remaining in the game and closed the contest out on a 23-7 run punctuated by a Myles Powell dagger three-pointer. In 2018, they trailed by 11 with 9:57 left to play and bounced back to win by three. In 2019, they trailed by 17 with only 6:48 to play before staging a furious 20-3 rally to tie game up and then ultimately losing when they were charged with goaltending with 15 seconds left. While they've been exciting halves to watch, no one wants to be trailing late in the second half. Can The Hall change things up or will it continue its trend of being better in the second half than the first?

3. Don't Give Away the Ball
How can Seton Hall generate offense against a stingy Butler defense? Possessions will be at a premium, so the Pirates really need to hold on to the ball the way they did against Marquette when they committed only six turnovers. Butler only averages 4.7 steals a game and only forces 12.5 opponent turnovers per game. No need to give the Bulldogs extra time with the ball. That would only decrease their chances of getting to 60 points.