Seton Hall 78, St. John's 73: Ray Floriani's Tempo-Free Analysis

The one and only Seton Hall cheer squad during an in-game routine. (Photo courtesy of Ray Floriani)

South Orange, NJ - Win number 20 is in the books. Seton Hall defeated St. John’s 78-73 at Walsh Gym on Sunday. The Pirates, enjoying a 70-50 lead with 8 minutes to play, held off a surging Red Storm. The pace and efficiency:

Possessions: 72

Offensive Efficiency: Seton Hall 108, St. John's 101

The Four Factors:

eFG%: Seton Hall 52, St. John's 43

FT Rate: St. John's 43, Seton Hall 33

OREB%: Seton Hall 34, St. John's 31

TO Rate: Both 18

What St. John's did well: Care for the ball with a turnover rate below the 20% cutoff. Joe Tartamella’s group also competed very well. Down 20 with eight minutes to play in a tough road environment, St. John’s went on a run that cut it to a one-possession game with just under a minute to play.

What Seton Hall did well: Rebound. The glass was a priority for Tony Bozzella. Seton Hall ‘won’ the offensive rebounding percentage category and had a slight, but satisfying, 39-38 advantage in total rebounds.

Leading scorers and OE:

St. John's: Aliyyah Handford (26 points, OE .600)

Seton Hall: Ka-Deidre Simmons (22 points, OE .609)

Both teams scored 32 points in the paint. Tabatha Richardson-­Smith scored 14 points and was a force on the boards for Seton Hall. She led all rebounders with 13, five on the offensive end. Amber Thompson scored 15 with 8 rebounds. Bozzella was pleased the Pirates were able to keep her from doing the damage she’s done in the past.

How did St. John's come back? No full court pressure, simply making shots. “At one point they made nine straight shots,” Bozzella said. "They have two great players (Handford and Thompson) and we knew they were not going away." Seton Hall scored one field goal, a Ka-­Deidre Simmons pull up in the lane, in the final eight minutes. St. John’s scored seven.

The Red Storm outscored the Hall 21-8 in the final eight minutes. The efficiencies over that time:

St. John's 162, Seton Hall 53

The numbers illustrate the numbers of the Red Storm comeback.

St. John's is 15-6, 6-4 in the Big East. Seton Hall is 20-2, 9-1 in conference.

“Even during their run, our team never lost confidence. They just got in the huddle and said ‘let’s finish this’.” – Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella