Seton Hall 55, Providence 43: Tempo-Free Recap

Providence head coach Jim Crowley searches for an answer against Seton Hall. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - After an opening night win over St. John’s, it has been one long drought. The Seton Hall Pirates, with six straight losses, had yet to post a win in 2017.  Providence started 1-1 in Big East before falling into the same situation as the Pirates, with no wins in 2017 to date and five straight losses. Something had to give, and in the final analysis, the decision was in Seton Hall’s favor. The Pirates defeated Providence, 55-43, at Walsh Gym and are 2-6 in the Big East. Providence is now 1-7. The numbers of note:

First five possessions:

Providence: Field goal, turnover, missed FG, three-point FG, turnover

Seton Hall: Turnover, missed FG, three-point FG, missed FG, turnover

The score at this juncture was 5-3, in favor of Providence at the 5:48 mark. The early minutes went in favor of the pace Providence wishes to impose on this one.

A few first half thoughts:

Rebounding, specifically getting position and boxing out, were imperative for the Friars against the taller opposition.

Seton Hall turned a one-point deficit quickly into a seven-point early second quarter lead by virtue of an 8-0 run.

Providence kept composure running their offense and not rushing things, and did a good job of getting to loose balls, hustle plays which Seton Hall mentor Tony Bozzella has elaborated on in recent weeks.

The first four minutes of the second half saw Providence outscore Seton Hall, 5-2. The Pirates still had the lead at 26-23. Getting off to a positive start was important, as the Friars struggled on the offensive end in the first half.

Possessions: PC 57, Seton Hall 58

Offensive efficiency: PC 58, Seton Hall 95

Four Factors:

eFG%: PC 34, Seton Hall 49

Free Throw Rate: PC 3, Seton Hall 20

Offensive Rebound%: PC 48, Seton Hall 37

Turnover Rate: PC 28, Seton Hall 26

Leading scorers and EF:

Providence: Jovana ‘Yoyo’ Nogic, 12 points, EF 10.

Seton Hall: Deja Winters, 18 points, EF 22.

What Providence did well: Grab loose balls and rebound. The Friars had 20 offensive rebounds, earning the praise of Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella for their work ethic and determination.

What Seton Hall did well: Defend. As Bozzella noted, if you aren’t ready to defend, Providence can exploit you. The Hall defended, as defensive eFG and turnover rate figures attest.

A Lubirdia Gordon putback, Kaela Hilaire penetration, and a Deja Winters three-pointer pushed the Seton Hall lead to 44-32 with just over seven minutes left. Not an insurmountable edge, but given Providence’s difficulties scoring, this Seton Hall mini-run was crucial.

The free throw rate of three percent is not a misprint. Providence chose the perimeter and had one trip to the line, hitting two of two. Seton Hall led 24-16 in the paint and enjoyed a somewhat misleading 20-2 edge in points off the bench. Deja Winters’ scoring outburst of her game-high supplied almost all of those points.

Providence scored three field goals the second quarter and four the final quarter. No argument here, the Friars need to put the ball in the basket with greater frequency. Such has been their problem, especially in the Big East. Allegra Botteghi of Providence paced all rebounders with 10. Lubirdia Gordon and Shadeen Samuels had eight each to pace Seton Hall.

As noted, shooting was a big difference. Seton Hall made 6-of-17 from distance, with Winters going 3-for-5. Providence was 5-of-16 from outside, and actually less proficient from two, going 13-of-44 for 30%. Such is life on the road in the Big East.

Final thoughts:

“Not to oversimplify, but we didn’t make enough shots. We defended, hit the boards and gave a good overall effort, but you need to make shots to be successful in this league. We don’t have an inside player to go to when we need a key basket. I think No. 15 (Winters) hit some big shots. She had been struggling, but her shooting turned a one-possession game into a four or five one. The offense we have in place is a lot different than what the kids were used to. To their credit, they have been very receptive, but it takes time to fully grasp it.” - Providence coach Jim Crowley

“We defended and did what we wanted in the game plan. Providence is tough to defend, with an offense with great movement. They pass and cut very well on offense, and their pace is more deliberate. We seemed to play well at that pace and may look into it a little more. Glad for the girls to get that first win of 2017. Now they can build on that. We got outrebounded and will address that in practice. Deja had a nice game and I was happy for her. She has been working hard. We have Creighton here Sunday. The Big East schedule doesn’t leave much time to prepare.”- Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella