By ,
Published May 02, 2016
Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - The 24th-ranked Seton Hall Pirates will attempt to stop a two-game losing streak as they travel to face the Butler Bulldogs in a Big East Conference tilt at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Since moving up into the Top-25, Seton Hall has dropped three of its last four contests. The Pirates are trying to pull out of a two-game slide, which includes a 79-75 overtime defeat at the hands of Butler not even two weeks ago. Seton Hall is 13-5 on the year, and 3-3 in Big East play.
Butler has won three of its last four games, and is coming off a tight 64-61 victory over Creighton. The Bulldogs have been dominant at home this season, owning a 9-1 mark at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
This will be the fifth meeting between Seton Hall and Butler all-time. The Bulldogs own a 3-1 mark over the Pirates after taking two of three matchups a season ago and the overtime contest earlier this month in Newark, New Jersey.
Seton Hall trailed DePaul in the team's last outing, 36-33, at halftime, and couldn't make up the difference in the second half as the Pirates ended up falling to the Blue Demons at home, 64-60. Angel Delgado's monster double- double of 19 points and 19 rebounds wasn't enough to get his Pirates the win. Khadeen Carrington netted 12 points before fouling out of the game, and Brandon Mobley added 10 points with eight boards for Seton Hall, which shot just 30 percent from the floor in the loss.
Sterling Gibbs was relatively quiet against DePaul on Thursday night, going for just eight points in his team's loss. That goes against the norm for Gibbs, who currently leads Seton Hall at 16.7 ppg on 44.9 percent shooting from the floor, with a team-high 66 assists. He's the only active player for the Pirates who averages a scoring total in the double digits, as Isaiah Whitehead (11.9 ppg) is still out with a stress fracture in his right foot. Mobley (9.8 ppg) and Delgado (9.4 ppg) are on the cusp of double-figure scoring, while Delgado leads his team in rebounding at 9.6 rpg. The Pirates are netting 70.3 ppg this season, and are allowing 62.8 ppg to opponents.
Butler shot just 33.8 percent from the floor against Creighton on Wednesday, but was able to earn advantages at the free-throw line and on the glass to help the Bulldogs escape the Bluejays with a three-point victory. Roosevelt Jones tallied a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, also adding in six assists to pace the team in all three major categories. Andrew Chrabascz added 13 points, while Kameron Woods chipped in 12 points and four blocked shots. Creighton didn't help itself in the loss, as the Bluejays turned the ball over 19 times.
Kellen Dunham scored only seven points in the win over Creighton, but the guard still leads the team in scoring at 16.2 ppg on 43.6 percent shooting this season. Jones is the only other player for Butler in double-figure scoring this season, as the forward contributes 13.3 ppg with 5.9 rpg, which is second on the squad behind Kameron Woods's 9.0 rpg mark (second in Big East behind Delgado). The Bulldogs as a unit are netting 70.4 ppg this season, and are holding opponents to a Big East-best 60.2 ppg, on 41.3 percent shooting. Chrabascz is on the verge of double-digit scoring, adding in 9.6 ppg.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/bulldogs-set-sights-on-struggling-pirates