The Pirates sailed past Providence in Round 1
By Shane McCarthy on March 6, 2012
Let's breakdown Seton Hall vs. Providence into ten four-minute segments and see what went down.
1st Half
20 Minute Mark:
It is tough to play much worse to start the game than these two teams managed to do in the first four minutes. The sloppy play was filled with moving screens, passes into teammates' backs, and two travelling violations before a point was even scored. It took 2 minutes and 37 seconds before Providence broke the scoreless drought and they actually prevented Seton Hall from scoring in the first four minutes of the game. Score: 6-0 Providence. At this points, the Friars were on pace to win the game 48-0.
16 Minute Mark:
Providence continued to use their speed to push the pace of the game to go up 9-0. At this point, Seton Hall had not even come close to scoring. But that did not last as Fuquan Edwin drained a three for the Pirate's first points five minutes into the game. This got the ball rolling as they hit two more three pointers (Brandon Mobley and Aaron Cosby) and quickly got the Pirates back in the game. Score: 11-11 Tie
What once looked like a shut-out in the making, eventually began to spiral out of control for Providence. After the Pirates converted an old-school three point play, the Friars put together this dandy of a possession: air-ball, but the Friars come up with it under the basket, the put-back hits the bottom edge of the backboard and comes back down in the shooters face, he then kicks it out, but only for that player to immediately travel with the ball. Not exactly a high quality possession. Providence's next possession ended with another air-ball and the one after that ended with another travelling violation. This entire sequence seemed to deject the Friars as they practically quit on defense and watched Seton Hall stay hot with all the open looks they were getting. Score: 21-14 Seton Hall
8 Minute Mark:
At this point the Friars were approximately 0 of a trillion from three, and it actually looked like they were attempting to bank their long jumpers in. That did not work. In the meantime, Jordan Theodore and Mobley gave them a shooting lesson at the other end. Score: 30-16 Seton Hall
4 Minute Mark:
The law of averages eventually prevails as Providence finally makes a three, ending a stretch in which they missed 14 of 15 shots from the floor. Score: 36-23 Seton Hall
Halftime
2nd Half
20 Minute Mark:
The Friars seemed to have made the necessary adjustments that needed to be made as they came out of halftime running actual offensive sets, moving the ball, getting open looks at the basket, and actually causing problems for the defense. The two teams traded multiple baskets, before LaDontae Henton of Providence picked up three fouls in about a minute. This managed to suck the wind out of the sails for the Friars and the Pirates pounced on the opportunity. This stretch was capped off by a pick-n-roll to perfection between Theodore and Herb Pope that resulted in a three point play. Score: 47-30 Seton Hall
16 Minute Mark:
The sloppy play by Providence endures, and Theodore continues to carve up the Friars. He got his 10th and 11th assists on an alley-oop to Pope and then a behind the back pass in the lane to Pope for a bucket. To end this segment of the game, Seton Hall fouled Bryce Cotton attempting a three pointer which resulted in him converting all three free throws. Score: 56-35 Seton Hall
12 Minute Mark:
Jordan Theodore, a senior who has never been to the NCAA Tournament, continues to play desperate and hungry as you would expect. He facilitates the offense, single-handedly breaks the press, and even manages to draw a charging violation with a beautiful flop. You can tell that he wants to absolutely pummel the Friars to eliminate the bubble talk. Score: 62-38 Seton Hall
8 Minute Mark:
At this point, the game was so out of hand that they decided to interview Rick Pitino with the camera on him while the game was going on. Coach Pitino confirms that Seton Hall should be off the bubble with this win and he will be ready to put a hit on them tomorrow. Score: 74-42 Seton Hall
4 Minute Mark:
With about two minutes remaining in the game, Seton Hall decided to put in their best bench-warmer, the Hammer, Peter Dill. Peter has logged seven minutes on the season and has two total points. But Peter does have a role on this team, and does he ever contribute. Many have probably seen this, but it is worth another look...
Final Score: 79-47 Seton Hall
Twitter --> shane_t_mac
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