Central Plains FFA Chapter

01/30 03:43 CST Simpkins leads Seton Hall against Marquette after 27-point outing Simpkins leads Seton Hall against Marquette after 27-point outing By The Associated Press Marquette Golden Eagles (8-14, 3-8 Big East) at Seton Hall Pirates (15-6, 5-5 Big East) Newark, New Jersey; Saturday, 12 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Seton Hall hosts Marquette after TJ Simpkins scored 27 points in Seton Hall's 86-68 win over the Xavier Musketeers. The Pirates are 9-3 in home games. Seton Hall ranks eighth in the Big East with 22.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Stephon Payne III averaging 4.1. The Golden Eagles are 3-8 in Big East play. Marquette is 3-2 in games decided by less than 4 points. Seton Hall scores 72.2 points per game, 6.1 fewer points than the 78.3 Marquette allows. Marquette has shot at a 42.8% rate from the field this season, 3.2 percentage points above the 39.6% shooting opponents of Seton Hall have averaged. The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play. TOP PERFORMERS: A.J. Staton-McCray is shooting 41.9% and averaging 11.7 points for the Pirates. Simpkins is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Nigel James Jr. is averaging 15.4 points, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals for the Golden Eagles. Chase Ross is averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 5-5, averaging 67.5 points, 35.6 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 8.3 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 39.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.1 points per game. Golden Eagles: 3-7, averaging 74.2 points, 29.0 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 9.4 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.2 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.