Monday, February 29, 2016

Seton Hall

In one of the most impressive games of the weekend, Seton Hall throttled Xavier freak off its own impressive win over Villanova. The Pirates started league play 2-4 but have gone 8-1 since and are comfortably in 3rd place. 

Hall finds itself 31st overall in KenPom. They're 13th in defense and 73rd in offense. The offensive numbers are probably a reflection of their youth. They start one senior, graduate transfer Derrick Gordon. According to KenPom, they're the 321st most experienced team.

Opponents have an effective fg% of 44.8%, 15th best. Teams only shoot 31.1% from 3, 25th best and 44% from 2, 31st best. They're pretty soft on the defensive glass, allowing an opponent rebounding % of 30.9, which is 252nd.

Offensively, they're a lot a less efficient. They have an effective fg% of only 49.2%, 207th. They can be careless with the ball. The Pirates turnover % is 19.3%, 251st. While they don't protect the defensive glass, they are a very good offensive rebounding team. They're 30th overall with an offensive rebounding % of 35.4%. They demoralized Xavier on this front yesterday.

As I mentioned before, this is a young team. Aside from Gordon, they start 4 sophomores. Isaiah Whitehead gets the heaviest usage and runs the show. He's a high volume shooter and not all that good at it. He's a bit of a drain on their numbers. Khadeen Carrington is similar in makeup. They both like to shoot. Desi Rodriguez has been one of the most improved players in the league. Big man Angel Delgado is their best rebounder. Fellow big man Ish Sanogo is solid on the offensive glass and can be a shot blocker. All of them are sophomores. 

Seton Hall was a wreck to end last year and a sluggish start to league play this year probably put Kevin Willard's job on the line. The team responded brilliantly and will make their first tournament appearance since 2006. Brian has them on the 8/9 line. A win in March would be a great season for them and about where they fall by the numbers. Whitehead might look to the NBA but if he's back next year and maybe even if he isn't, they'll be a top 20 team.

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