After months of anticipation, the wait is finally over.
On Sept. 13, the Seton Hall men’s basketball schedule was released and by the looks of it, this schedule has the makings of being a good one.
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Photo via Joey Khan[/caption]
Starting with the non-conference schedule, Seton Hall will begin its season at the Prudential Center taking on Farleigh Dickinson on Nov. 10.
Two days later, in-state rivals Monmouth will make the trip to Newark as a part of the NIT Tip-Off Tournament.
The Pirates will have their first true test of the season when Indiana comes to town on Nov. 15 to participate in the Gavitt Games. After a home contest against NJIT on Nov. 18, Seton Hall will have yet another big test, taking on a Rhode Island team that returns a large majority of their rotation as part of the NIT Tip-Off on Thanksgiving Day.
Depending on what happens against Rhode Island, the Pirates will take on either Virginia or Vanderbilt on Nov. 24 to conclude the NIT Tip-Off.
After spending Thanksgiving weekend in Brooklyn, Seton Hall will head to Madison Square Garden to take on Texas Tech in the Under Armour Reunion, followed by a major test on Dec. 3 when the Pirates travel to Louisville.
The non-conference slate concludes with some intriguing games, such as VCU in the Never Forget Tribute Classic on Dec. 9, as well as a trip to Rutgers on Dec. 16.
For the second consecutive year, Seton Hall will begin Big East play with Creighton. This time around, the Pirates will start their Big East schedule with two consecutive home games.
Upon the conclusion of a brief home stand, Seton Hall will head to Butler for its first in-conference road test of the year on Jan. 6 and things will not get any easier with a two-game stretch of Creighton and Xavier on Jan. 17 and 20.
As for the much-anticipated showdown with Villanova, Seton Hall will not see the Wildcats until it takes a trip to the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 4. It is worth noting that Seton Hall will not have to play at the daunting Pavilion as it undergoes renovations that will have Villanova playing off-campus for the entire 2017-18 season.
Ten days later, the Pirates will have another test, heading to the Cintas Center, a place where they have not had much success in recent years, to take on Xavier on Feb. 14. Seton Hall will have their second crack at Villanova on Feb. 28 at home before ending their regular season schedule with another home game against Butler on Mar. 3.
With Seton Hall beginning and ending the Big East schedule with two consecutive home games, the Pirates have been dealt a kinder hand than they have been in the past couple of years. Seton Hall will also not have to deal with a three-game road trip at any point in Big East play this year, something that head coach Kevin Willard has taken issue with in the past.
Fox Sports 1 will serve as the main provider for Seton Hall games throughout the season. The Pirates will play on ESPN2 when they take on Louisville, ESPNU when they play Rhode Island and will play on the main FOX Network three times during Big East play.
Tyler Calvaruso can be reached at tyler.calvaruso@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @tyler_calvaruso.
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