DePaul 64, Seton Hall 60: Ray Floriani's Tempo-Free Analysis

The Seton Hall cheerleaders entertain during Pirates' matchup with DePaul. (Photo courtesy of Ray Floriani)

Newark, NJ ­- Road wins are valuable. In the Big East, they are treasured commodities. DePaul came from behind late to post a big 64-60 win over Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on Thursday, The pace and efficiency:

Possessions: DePaul 72, Seton Hall 71

Offensive efficiency: DePaul 90, Seton Hall 83

The Four Factors:

eFG%: DePaul 40, Seton Hall 31

FT Rate: Seton Hall 58, DePaul 54

OREB%: Seton Hall 43, DePaul 35

TO Rate: Seton Hall 21, DePaul 20

What DePaul did well: Not fold when down eight with under six minutes to play. You can’t measure will to win and heart, but that went a long way toward a big road win. In measurable terms, the Blue Demons forced the Hall into a 21% TO rate which translated into a 19-14 advantage in points off turnovers, a factor in what ended as a two-possession game.

What Seton Hall did well: Rebound. The Pirates had a 43-35 edge in OREB%. They led in second chance points, 22-6. Angel Delgado was a significant reason with a game high 19 boards, eight on the offensive end.

Leading scorers:
DePaul: Myke Henry, 14
Seton Hall: Angel Delgado, 19

Efficiency leaders:
DePaul: Billy Garrett, 14
Seton Hall: Angel Delgado, 31

Delgado shot 7-of-11 from the floor, the lone Pirate to shoot over 50% from the field. Sterling Gibbs struggled. The Seton Hall guard scored 8 points, shot 3-of-16 from the floor, picked up a technical foul and had a minus-­6 efficiency. Simply, a tough night.

Free throw rates as noted in the Four Factors, were on the astronomical side. Teams did not take full advantage. DePaul shot 19-of-33, (58%) Seton Hall was 23-for-35. (66%) A total of 55 fouls were whistled, 29 against DePaul and 26 for the Pirates.

Rashaun Stimage of DePaul shot 2-of-7 from the line. He did hit 4-of-8 from the field for 10 points, seven rebounds and several big plays in the stretch, the type that secure hotly contested road games like these.

DePaul is now 5-2 in conference play. Seton Hall falls to 3-3.

“Belief. We have been in situations like this before. Our guys just have a belief in themselves, they will get it done.” -­ DePaul coach Oliver Purnell

“When we had that (eight-point lead) late, we rushed a few shots early in the possession. That can change things quickly.” -­ Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard