Seton Hall basketball: KC Ndefo, defense lead win at DePaul

The annual visit to DePaul has long been a tripwire for Seton Hall basketball.

Not this time.

The Pirates locked down the Blue Demons in the second half Saturday to secure a gritty 71-67 victory, their third straight — capping a stretch that pushes the reset button on their season.

Postgrad forward KC Ndefo tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Hall, which improves to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in the Big East.

DePaul (8-10, 2-5) was coming off a 10-point home win over Villanova.

The program went 7-5 at DePaul in 12 seasons under Kevin Willard, suffering some gut-punch losses against the perennial bottom-feeder. The Blue Demons often pulled the Pirates into a street-ball contest that proved costly.

This time, Seton Hall dictated when it counted.

3 THOUGHTS

Seton Hall Pirates head coach Shaheen Holloway

1-Surprise lineup change

Looking for length, Holloway inserted 6-foot-9 freshman Tae Davis for 6-5 Femi Odukale. It was a bit of a surprise for a team on a two-game winning streak. Davis held his own early, scoring in transition and helping the Hall to a 17-10 lead. In the second half, though, he got a quick hook after DePaul opened on a 7-1 run.

Odukale responded positively to coming off the bench. Given the back-and-forth nature of the game, it’s hard to say how the lineup change impacted the outcome but it’s interesting that Holloway would tinker with a team on bit of a roll.

Seton Hall Pirates forward KC Ndefo (13)

2-Defensive identity

Maybe it was the dead environment, but when you hang your hat on defense, you have to bring it on the road. The Pirate got shredded in the first half as DePaul shot 57 percent from the field and 6-of-13 from 3-point range. Holloway made a helpful adjustment by throwing on full-court pressure in the second stanza. That turned the game on its head. DePaul shot just 28 percent after the break.

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