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
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.
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.
3-Huge week ahead
If the Pirates are going to change the trajectory of this season, it has to happen during the coming week’s homestand with two Quad 1 opportunities ahead. Sixth-ranked UConn (15-3, 4-3) comes in Wednesday (6:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1) and 25th-ranked Marquette (14-4, 6-1) visits Saturday (4 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
3 QUOTES
From Shaheen Holloway’s postgame radio interview.
On what changed at halftime: “I talked to these guys and made sure we understand who we are. We have o stop trying to outscore people. Our offense became a lot better because our defense was much better.”
On starting Tae Davis: “He’s been practicing well. When you practice well, you get rewarded in my system, period”
On Kadary Richmond (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists): “It’s very simple. I tell him every day: ‘You have to play like an all-league player every game, every practice, every time you step on the court. It’s contagious. When it does that, it works for us.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at [email protected].