Seton Hall 84, Baruch 79: Tempo-Free Recap

Isaiah Whitehead started his sophomore season with a bang, erupting for 40 points in Seton Hall's exhibition win against Baruch. (Photo courtesy of the Newark Star-Ledger)

Seton Hall trailed by as many as 11 points early against Division III opponent Baruch College in their exhibition matchup today, but the Pirates found a way through, thanks in large part to a 40-point effort from newly minted point guard Isaiah Whitehead, to secure an 84-79 victory at Walsh Gymnasium. Before we delve further into the box score, we'll take a look at the possession and efficiency numbers:

Possessions: Seton Hall 79, Baruch 78

Points per Possession: Seton Hall 1.06, (84 points in 79 trips) Baruch 1.01 (79 in 78)

Four Factors:

eFG %: Baruch .597, Seton Hall .542

Free Throw Rate: Seton Hall 55.9%, Baruch 11.3

Offensive Rebound %: Seton Hall 29.7, Baruch 18.2

Turnover Rate: Seton Hall 19.0%, Baruch 24.4

What Seton Hall did well: If you're a Pirates fan judging solely by the five-point margin of victory over a Division III team, chances are you'll say "not much." But there were several bright spots within the numbers, such as getting to the line far more frequently than their opponent, which Seton Hall did to a 33-7 margin. The 13 steals, all but three of which were recorded by either Isaiah Whitehead or Khadeen Carrington, only highlighted a stellar ball handling effort for the Pirates, who registered only 15 turnovers in their 79 possessions, good enough for a very acceptable 19 percent turnover rate.

In addition, Ismael Sanogo (8 points, 11 rebounds in 30 minutes) did a brilliant job of filling in for a foul trouble-plagued Angel Delgado, who was whistled for four infractions while battling his way to eight points and seven boards. Whitehead's 40 points, which he only needed 20 shots from the field to help get, recorded an offensive efficiency mark of .615, something Kevin Willard will no doubt be pleased with despite an even assist-to-turnover ratio for the sophomore after he finished with three helpers and three miscues.

Seton Hall opens their season on November 13 at the Prudential Center, hosting Dartmouth before returning to Walsh for a November 15 matinee against Wagner.