Long Island University Sharks vs Seton Hall Pirates Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 1

Seton Hall held its opener to 42 points and won without anyone scoring more than 15. Long Island won 24 games last season and arrives in Newark knowing exactly who it is. Something has to give.

The Matchup

Long Island University visits Seton Hall on Thursday evening at the Prudential Center in Newark, on truTV, with Seton Hall an 18.5-point favorite and a total of 139.5. The low total tells the story the home team wants told: this is supposed to be a defensive game, played at Seton Hall's pace, in Seton Hall's building.

Seton Hall finished 21-12 last season, scoring 70.3 points a game and allowing 65.2. Long Island finished 24-11, scoring 73.6 and allowing 71.7, the better record in the weaker league. The openers split cleanly along defensive lines: Seton Hall beat Saint Peter's 66-42, holding a local rival to 42 points, while Long Island lost 74-60 at Florida Atlantic and never got its offense started.

Long Island is not a typical buy-game visitor. The Sharks won 24 games last season and play like a team that expects to win its league. Seton Hall's edge is that it does not need to outscore that kind of team. It needs to strangle it, possession by possession, until the margin builds itself.

Key Factors

Seton Hall's defense is the cover mechanism, and its scoring balance keeps the offense from stalling while the defense works. Roddie Anderson led the Pirates with 15 points against Saint Peter's, going 3-of-5 from three, and Terry Copeland Jr. added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Nobody had to carry the night, which matters for a team laying a big number: the points keep coming in small pieces from the whole roster, and a cold stretch from one player does not stall the margin.

Long Island's opener exposed the exact weakness this defense preys on. Daquan Davis scored 16 points at Florida Atlantic, but he also turned the ball over 6 times, and the Sharks managed only 60 points as a team. Against a Seton Hall defense that held its opener to 42, a primary ball handler giving possessions away is how a competitive game turns into a 20-point game in one bad five-minute stretch.

The counterpoint is Seton Hall's own offense, and it is the honest risk in this pick. The Pirates scored only 66 points themselves on Monday, and a team that scores in the sixties has very little room to lay 18.5, no matter how well it defends.

Long Island is a 24-win team with real size and real confidence, not a roster that folds when a game gets physical. The bet is that the Pirates' defense creates enough easy points off turnovers to cover what their half-court offense cannot, and that the Sharks' opener ball security was a warning, not an accident.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.