Seton Hall vs DePaul Odds, Lines and Spread (Jan. 13)

• No. 20 Seton Hall is a 5.5-point favorite over DePaul on Thursday
• DePaul has lost four straight, 1-3 ATS
• Read below for analysis and a betting prediction

No. 20 Seton Hall (11-3, 2-2 Big East) is a 5.5-point road favorite at DePaul in a Big East game at 5 pm ET Thursday on FS1. The Pirates have won two straight after losing their first two conference games against Providence and Villanova.

DePaul (9-6, 0-5 Big East) will play the final game in a stretch of four games in nine days in a rescheduled game against the Pirates. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 23 but postponed because of Covid issues in the Blue Demons’ program.

Seton Hall vs DePaul Odds

Odds from BetMGM on Jan. 12.

Have a Day, Kadary

Searching for offense against UConn last Saturday, Seton Hall found an answer in physical guard 6’5 Kadary Richmond, who scored a career-high 27 points off the bench in the Pirates’ 90-87 overtime home victory.

A secondary option much of this season after transferring from Syracuse, Richmond powered his way through less physical UConn defenders for multiple baskets at the rim. He had 17 points in a row to help the Pirates dig out of a 54-45 hole four minutes into the second half.

Kadary Richmond absolutely TOOK OVER (17 straight PTS) in the 2nd half vs. UConn. Head-down driver made bucket after bucket, bulldozing his way to the rim & letting his athleticism shine

Still needs to add a great deal of perimeter polish, but there are rare flashes to his game pic.twitter.com/9OeAKhLjAS

— The Box and One (@TheBoxAndOne_) January 9, 2022

Richmond scored  25 points in the second half in overtime. After going away from him the final five minutes of regulation, the Pirates got Richmond the ball for a go-ahead layup with 31 seconds remaining in overtime.

Pirates Schedule Up

Seton Hall relies on wing Jared Rhoden (16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and guard Bryce Aiken (12.9 points) for offense in a fluid group that has used nine different starting lineups this season.

Aiken has started the last two after playing off the bench behind  Richmond most of the non-conference season as the Pirates look for consistency at the point alongside starting guard Myles Cole (8.8 points). Richmond leads the team at 3.8 assists per game. Aiken tends to take it upon himself in late-game situations, which has bogged the offense down.

The Hall gets to the line and converts, averaging 22 free throws per game and converting on 76.8 percent.

The Pirates are not afraid to schedule up, with victories over Michigan, No. 21 Texas and UConn. Their three losses are to AP Top 25 teams No. 16 Ohio State, No. 14 Villanova and No. 23 Providence.

DePaul Hits the Skids

DePaul beat Louisville and Rutgers during a 9-1 start under first-year coach and former Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield, but the Blue Demons have not been the same since entering the grind of the Big East schedule. Ball-handling and shooting issues have led to 0-5 conference start, the latest an 87-76 loss to Marquette the last time out Tuesday.

Guard 6’4 Javon Freeman-Liberty has been a go-to guy, averaging 21.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, and he had 34 points and six rebounds against Villanova last Saturday. But after leading the Wildcats at halftime, DePaul missed 11 of its first 12 field goal attempts and suffered its 21st straight loss to Villanova.

Freshman guard 6’6 David Jones (14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds) and Minnesota transfer 6’8 Brandon Johnson (11.0, 7.5 rebounds) are the Blue Demons’ other double-figure scorers, but Oregon transfer 6′ Jalen Terry has not been the answer at point guard, playing tentatively and having difficult running the offense.

The team numbers have gone backward in the Big East — the Blue Demons are shooting 38.9 percent from the field with a minus-3.4 turnover margin in league play, where they are being outscored by 10 points a game. The defense needs tightening. League foes are shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range.

Marquette shot 55.7 percent from the field and made 11 of 24 threes against the Blue Demons, who committed 15 turnovers against the Golden Eagles’ harassing defense while shooting 43.7 from the floor.

By the Numbers

Seton Hall has won 10 of the last 12 in the season series, 5-7 ATS, and has won five of the last six in Chicago, 4-2 ATS. DePaul swept the home-and-home season series in the 2018-19 season but has lost both games in the other five series beginning in 2015-16.

Seton Hall is No. 26 in KenPom adjusted efficiency margin. DePaul is 109th. The Pirates are 8-2, 5-5 ATS, since a 79-76 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 22. They are 1-0 ATS as a road favorite, stopping Butler 71-56 as a 3.5-point favorite on Jan. 4. DePaul is 2-1 ATS as a home underdog.

This looks like a trap game for Seton Hall, with a road game at Marquette on Saturday and a return match with Providence next Tuesday.  Plus the Pirates are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 Big East games.

The pick: DePaul +5.5 (-110)