Providence 79, Seton Hall 66: Ray Floriani's Tempo-Free Analysis

Seton Hall's cheer squad poses after the game at center court. (Photo courtesy of Ray Floriani)

Newark, NJ - Once again, Seton hall was dealt a cruel lesson: The game is 40 minutes. The Pirates came out strong, only to falter after intermission. Providence scored 50 second-half points to defeat Seton Hall 79-66 on Senior Night. The pace and efficiency:

Possessions: Seton Hall 65, Providence 64

Offensive Efficiency: Providence 123, Seton Hall 102

Four Factors:

EFG: Seton Hall 56, Providence 49

FT Rate: Providence 65, Seton Hall 25 

OREB Pct.: Providence 40, Seton Hall 13

TO Rate: Providence 14, Seton Hall 17

What Providence did well: Play a great second half (see ‘tale of two halves’). The Friars’ rebounding and ability to attack the basket resulted in an outstanding FT rate. 

What Seton Hall did well: Shoot the ball well. The Pirates ended with a 56% eFG mark. Included was a 10-of-23 showing (44%) from long range. Unfortunately, for the Pirates, most of the offense and good shooting (50% from three and 54% overall) occurred in the first half before cooling off. 

Leading scorers and OE:

Providence: Ben Bentil 21 points, OE 1.667, LaDontae Henton, 23 points, OE .471.

Seton Hall: Isaiah Whitehead 13 points, OE .500, Brandon Mobley 13 points, OE .385.

Rebounding was a crucial difference. Providence was dominant in OREB percentage, securing 12 offensive boards to the four of Seton Hall. In addition, the Friars enjoyed an outstanding 20-0 difference in second chance points. The leading rebounder for Seton Hall was Angel Delgado with seven, one on the offensive end. 

A tale of two halves: At the break, Seton Hall enjoyed a 119-91 advantage in efficiency and on the scoreboard, 37-29. The final twenty minutes saw a complete reversal of fortunes, as the Friars posted a 156 efficiency to the 91 of Seton Hall. Bentil led all rebounders with 10. His seven offensive boards largely explains his ‘off the charts’ OE. Both teams had favorable TO rates. Providence put those forced errors to good use, outscoring Seton Hall 18-10 in points off turnovers.

That ‘tale of two halves’ epitomized Kris Dunn of the Friars. In the first half, he was 0-for-5 from the field, zero points, one assist and a turnover. The sophomore guard finished with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and a game-high eight assists against two turnovers. An OE of a decidedly subpar .167 in the first half ended at an outstanding .700 for the evening.

Providence is 21-9 (11-6 in the Big East). Seton Hall dropped to 16-13 (6-11 in conference).

Final Thoughts

“I told Kris Dunn at halftime stop thinking, just play. As a team that second half might have been our best half of basketball this season.” – Providence coach Ed Cooley

“We could not sustain. We had a strong second half against Creighton (a Seton Hall victory the past Saturday) and the first half tonight. We still haven’t learned to put two halves together,” – Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard