Notre Dame (21-10) begins its Big East Tournament run tonight against Seton Hall (19-11) at 7 p.m. in  Madison Square Garden.

In their last regular season match-up Seton Hall triumphed over the Irish, 90–87.

Notre Dame played without the services of one of the league’s best players, Luke Harangody, in that game.

Luke is back and will use his "offensive force," aided by hot shooting guard Tim Abromaitis, whose 41.3 percent behind the arc makes him one of the league’s best shooters and guard Tory Jackson’s 14 points per game.

It will be interesting to see how Harangody’s return will effect the team’s winning chemistry and where he will fit into a newly implemented slowed down, stretched out offense.

Seton Hall, coming off a win against The Providence Friars in a 109-106 slugfest last night, is bristling with confidence haven beaten the Irish in their last meeting.

The Pirates’ balanced scoring attack is led by guard Jeremy Hazel’s 21 points a game. Guard Jeff Robinson and forward Eddie Pope each put up 11 points per contest. Pope’s interior presence will be key on offense and defense.

It remains to be seen if the team will have enough energy to compete after playing late last night.

I predict a fifth win in a row for the Irish. Notre Dame, with the return of Harangody, will dominate inside and outside on offense and prove too much to handle for the sluggish Pirates.