The Villanova Wildcats will look to stay unbeaten in the Big East on Sunday when they host the Seton Hall Pirates at Wells Fargo Center.

It’s been an up and down season for the Pirates, who enter Sunday’s contest with a 12-7 record and a 3-4 mark in the Big East. They have nice wins over Kentucky, Maryland, St. John’s, and Butler. But they’ve also lost twice to DePaul and own a loss to St. Louis. They’ll head to Wells Fargo Center losers of three straight, having fallen to Marquette, Providence, and DePaul.

As you might expect from the uneven performance, Seton Hall hasn’t excelled in any particular area. The Pirates rank 62 in offensive efficiency per KenPom while scoring 0.929 points per possession per Synergy Sports, ranking in the 63rd percentile. Defensively, KenPom ranks the Pirates 76, and they have allowed 0.879 points per possession, ranking in the 55th percentile.

The Pirates lean heavily on five players: Myles Powell, Quincy McKnight, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Myles Kale, and Michael Nzei. Those five all play at least 27.9 minutes per game, while no other Pirate averages more than 12.2.

Powell leads the way with 22.2 points per game. McKnight adds 10.2 and is the only other double-figure scorer for the Pirates. Mamukelashvili chips in 9.5, Kale 9.4, and Nzei 9.3. Taurean Thompson contributes 5.9, and no other Pirate averages more than three per game.

Seton Hall has struggled from 3-point range, shooting just 33.2 percent. Mamukelashvili leads the way at 37.5 percent.

The Pirates have been most efficient utilizing handoffs, but only use them on 2.7 percent of possessions. Spot-ups, utilizing the pick and roll ballhandler, isolations, and cuts make up the majority of their offense, and they rank “average” in each of those play types. They’ve had success with the roll man but have used him just 6 percent of the time.

Powell, McKnight, Nzei, and Mamukelashvili have been the most efficient Pirates, and unsurprisingly are the most effective Pirates in spot-up situations. Nzei and Mamukelashvili have done some damage off cuts and as the roll man. Powell has been dangerous using screens while Nzei has been the primary post threat. Powell and Thompson have been the best Pirates in isolation.

Defensively, the Hall has struggled to defend shooters, the pick and roll, and screens. The Pirates have done well-guarding isolations and cuts.

McKnight has been their best individual defender, while Cale and Mamukelashvili have struggled the most.

Powell and Mamukelashvili have struggled with shooters, and Cale has had issues in the pick and roll.

Generally, it’s been the offense that has let Seton Hall down in losses. The Pirates have been held under 70 in five of their seven defeats.

The obvious move is to sell out to stop Powell and make the rest of the Pirates beat you. Powell shot 33.3 percent or worse in five of Seton Hall’s seven losses.

Generally, it would be nice to see the ‘Cats stop dribble penetration and be aware of cutters, forcing Seton Hall into jump shots from the midrange and out. If the Pirates are settling for a lot of jumpers, it bodes well for ‘Nova.

Seton Hall has been relatively ineffective on the offensive glass, so hopefully the ‘Cats will be able to limit the Pirates to one opportunity most of the afternoon. Conversely, the Hall has given up a fair amount of offensive boards to opponents, so that’s an area where ‘Nova could build an advantage.

While this is not the Seton Hall team Villanova has been used to seeing, the Pirates always seem to play the ‘Cats tough. They have a razor-thin margin for error in terms of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and are in danger of falling out of the Big East race, so they should come ready to play. They’ve shown an ability to compete with and beat some very good competition, so the ‘Cats will have to be ready and match the intensity. It’s usually a very good game when these two programs meet, and we expect more of that on Sunday.