No. 13 Seton Hall eyes sweep of Marquette

The No. 13 Seton Hall Pirates will look to stay atop the Big East Conference standings when they visit the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon.

Seton Hall (20-7, 12-3) enters the weekend one game in front of Creighton and Villanova in the conference standings, three games in front of Providence and four games in front of Marquette. The Pirates are looking for their first regular-season conference title since 1993.

A buzz is building on campus as Seton Hall looks toward March. Some observers have pointed to the Pirates as a team outside the top 10 that could reach the Final Four, which would mark an incredible comeback for a program that last reached the NCAA title game in 1989.

"Enjoy this moment, enjoy this moment," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard recently said in comments published by Yahoo Sports. "I wasn't around in 1989, and I don't think these guys were alive. I'm really enjoying a group of guys who work hard and like to play together. That's where I'm living."

A road game this weekend against Marquette (18-9, 8-7) provides Seton Hall with plenty of reason to stay focused.

The Golden Eagles are coming off a 93-72 win over Georgetown, which snapped a three-game skid against Villanova, Creighton and Providence. Marquette is 13-2 at home this season, compared to 3-6 on the road, and figures to have plenty of raucous support on Saturday.

Marquette's Markus Howard, who leads the nation in scoring with 27.2 points per game, scored 30 points on 10-for-16 shooting in the big win over Georgetown. The senior guard is shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

"I thought Markus had a really complete game," head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "... To get 30 points on 16 shots is very hard to do. But the seven assists and two turnovers (also) stand out."

Howard scored 27 points on 8-for-22 shooting in the Golden Eagles' first matchup of the season against the Pirates. Seton Hall won that game 69-55 on its home court.

Creighton guard Davion Mitchell recently praised Howard's game.

"He's one of the best players I've played," Mitchell told reporters. "He's a smaller guy, so I know he's probably used to making tough shots. Hands in his face, that's probably what he practices. He's probably almost mastered that. Sometimes a hand isn't good enough."

Seton Hall has plenty of firepower on its roster, as well.

Senior guard Myles Powell is averaging 21.3 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He is shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from deep.

Quincy McKnight is second on the Seton Hall scoring list with 11.9 points per game, and Sandro Mamukelashvili is third with 10.9 points per game. Another threat is 7-foot-2 center Romaro Gill, who enters the weekend averaging 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.

For Marquette, Howard has more than twice as many points per game as the next-closest teammate, Sacar Anim, who is averaging 12.9. Koby McEwen also is averaging in double digits with 10.1 points per game, while Brendan Bailey is fourth with 7.6 points per game.

Seton Hall is 7-3 on the road this season, compared with an 11-3 mark on its home court.

--Field Level Media