Seton Hall has reclaimed its defensive identity, and brings a 10-1 record to Providence
Shaheen Holloway has led one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball this year — but he’s just about done talking about it.
Following Saturday’s 81-59 drubbing of Rutgers — a win that pushed Seton Hall’s record to 10-1 after they finished 7-25 last season — Holloway all but cringed when the comparison was brought up.
“We’re still talking about last year, huh?” he asked rhetorically.
The next question was about his team being picked to finish last by the Big East’s coaches in October.
“It’s amazing to me that other coaches and other people pick people’s teams and don’t know nothing about nobody’s teams. To me, that’s still a mystery,” Holloway said.
It’s no mystery why Seton Hall has improved so dramatically this year. The Pirates have regained their defensive identity.
How’s this for improvement?
Defensive Efficiency: Seton Hall has gone from 89th in the country last season to 13th this year
Effective Field Goal Percentage Against: From 335th to 29th
Two-point Field Goal Defense: 309th to 5th
Holloway’s club is second in the country in steals per game, sixth in blocks, and scores 21.5 points per game off turnovers. Seton Hall limited the nation’s second-leading scorer — PJ Haggerty — to 11 points on 3-12 shooting in their win over Kansas State.
They smacked Rutgers, won convincingly at Kansas State (78-67), and handled #23 North Carolina State (85-74) and Washington State (75-61) in Maui. If not for a horrible second-half whistle, they probably knock off USC in Hawaii as well (83-81).
Friday night at Providence figures to be a battle of styles. The Friars are scoring 91 points per game, while the Hall is giving up 61.
An afterthought by virtually everyone heading into this season, Seton Hall has turned it around behind its defense and greatly improved guard play.
The addition of point guard Budd Clark from Merrimack has proven critical. Clark was a 1st Team All MAAC selection last year, following a season in which he averaged 19.8 points and 6.0 assists per game.
Clark hasn’t been asked to carry as much of the scoring burden (10.2 PPG), but he’s dishing (5.5 APG) and proven to be pesky defensively (2.0 SPG).
Holloway has received big contributions from players transferring in from both high majors and those stepping up a level.
Miami transfer AJ Staton-McCray leads them in scoring (14.3 PPG) on outstanding shooting splits (38% from 3, 93% FT). The 6’4 senior from Florida was a solid scorer at Samford before putting up 7.3 points on 32% shooting from three at Miami last year. He’s been very consistent since this team’s step forward in Maui with 22 against NC State, 17 versus USC, 20 a day later against Washington State, and 18 more the last time out when Rutgers visited.
TJ Simpkins is their third double-digit scorer at 10.8 points per game. He’s an Elon transfer who has seen a big spike in his perimeter shooting numbers. Simpkins shot 26% from three last year, but is at 48% this season.
Meanwhile, LSU transfer Mike Williams is a tick under ten points per game, while Pacific transfer Elijah Fisher scores 9.2. The 6’6, 220-pound Fisher is a former four-star recruit out of Canada who has bounced around from Texas Tech to DePaul and Pacific before landing in Jersey this year.
Williams is a junior from Baltimore who put up 7.2 points a night as a freshman at LSU.
Holloway has gotten a big lift from a big freshman. Najai Hines is averaging 7.4 points and blocking 2.5 shots per game in his rookie campaign. He had four blocks against Rutgers and seven in a November contest versus Monmouth. 247 Sports ranked the big man as the top player in New Jersey’s class of 2025, and the 71st player overall.
Turnover differential might be the deciding factor in this one. Providence is turning it over 11.3 times per game, and has generally taken care of the ball. Their opponents are scoring 12.5 points a night off turnovers — nine fewer than the Pirates’ average.
This is a critical game for the Friars (7-5), who are coming off a double overtime heartbreaker at Butler. PC goes on the road to take on St. John’s and then hosts Connecticut in the two games following Friday night’s tilt.
Holloway had high praise for the Friars’ backcourt and the overall athleticism of their roster. Veteran guard Jaylin Sellers is on an absolute heater right now, shooting 17-23 beyond the arc over the past five games.
Meanwhile, Jason Edwards is coming off his best performance of the season with 32 points and six assists.
Edwards continues to come off the bench, and it will be interesting to see if Kim English changes that on Friday. Providence trailed 14-2 against URI on Dec. 6 and fell behind 7-0 at Butler on Saturday.
Providence fell 113-110 to Butler mainly due to their inability to win the toughness battle. Playing with physicality is a must when taking on a team led by Holloway.
The latest episode of The Friar Podcast is now available on Apple, Spotify, and SoundCloud as we get you primed for the Big East home opener.
Let the coaching search begin! Too bad. I love what Kim is all about, but enough already….
5 min left in the Seton Hall game and it feels like the end of the season is near