Seton Hall 67, Providence 40: Ray Floriani's Tempo-Free Analysis

Seton Hall cheerleaders during a routine at Walsh Gym. (Photo courtesy of Ray Floriani)

South Orange, NJ – Providence gave Seton Hall all they could handle the first time out. In the return contest, it turned out to be virtually no contest as the Pirates entertained a sellout crowd with a 67-40 triumph at Walsh Gymnasium on Friday. The pace and efficiency:

Possessions: 69

Offensive Efficiency: Seton Hall 97, Providence 58

The Four Factors:

eFG%: Seton Hall 46, Providence 28

FT Rate: Providence 20, Seton Hall 16

OREB%: Seton Hall 43, Providence 29

TO Rate: Providence 25, Seton Hall 22

What Providence did well: Get off to a good start. The first time around, Providence nearly pulled off the upset. Seton Hall captured the road contest after battling back from a 17-point deficit. This time out the Friars got out to an 11-6 lead the first four minutes. The quick start however, could not be sustained.

What Seton Hall did well: Defend. The efficiency margin on defense was outstanding. In addition, the Hall limited the Friars to just six second half field goals and a game eFG mark of 28%. The 25% TO rate imposed by the Pirates led to a 19-7 edge in points off turnovers.

Leading Scorers and OE:

Providence: Aliyah Miller (11 points, OE .357)

Seton Hall: Janee Johnson and Ka-­Deidre Simmons (17 points, OE: Simmons .700, Johnson .600)

Inside effort: Seton Hall dominated 30-14 in points in the paint and 18-6 in second chance points. Tabatha Richardson-­Smith, off the perimeter prowess, (10 points tonight) did the job on the boards with a game-high 13 rebounds.

Miller was the only Friar in double figures, an added testament to the defense of Seton Hall. Miller, a sophomore forward, also led coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl’s Friars with nine boards.

Evi Liskola led with 19 points the first meeting. This time out, the Friars junior guard/forward scored a very quiet eight points.

Providence is 5-18, (2-10 Big East) while Seton Hall is now 21-2 (10-1).

“I credit our fans and am very proud of them. This is beginning to be a very hard place (for visitors) to play....If you beat us, we want to make sure we gave our best effort. You beat our best.” Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella