St. John’s Week: A tempo-free look

NEW YORK - St. John’s split their two games the past week. A common thread of the two games was the importance of rebounding. The battle under the glass, especially on the offensive end, played a part in both outcomes, though more so in the meeting with UCLA.

On Tuesday, St. John’s was trampled 94-64 by Seton Hall at the Prudential Center. It was, simply, a “Valentine’s Day massacre”. On Saturday they showed resilience bouncing back for a strong 66-63 victory over UCLA at Madison Square Garden.

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Seton Hall 73, Pittsburgh 66: The final analysis

NEWARK, N.J. - It came down to a very simple situation: Seton Hall made shots when they had to, Pitt did not. The Hall defeated the Panthers 73-66 at the Prudential Center on Sunday.

After building and losing a 12-point lead, the Pirates trailed 61-55 with eight minutes to play. In the stretch, they came up with a succession of clutch plays. The victory came on the heels of a road win at Rutgers and has revived talk of an NCAA bid for Seton Hall.

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Tempo-Free Highlights: NEC and MAAC action

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – We take a tempo free look back at the week.

LIU Brooklyn 86, St. Francis(NY) 77

Those of you who exited MSG after the St. John’s clunker against Cincinnati, too bad. You missed a good, competitive contest between the Northeast Conference front runner and a serious challenger. Throw in the Brooklyn rivalry and we had a game. The NEC leader prevailed largely due to an above average offensive efficiency.

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Colgate-NJIT: Courtside in Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – On an evening with the mercury flirting with the sixties and students taking to outdoor games as soccer and lacrosse, the Highlanders of NJIT entertained non-conference opposition Colgate on Wednesday. The Red Raiders, of the Patriot League, are struggling with a 6-15 overall mark and 1-6 slate in conference play. NJIT entered 9-11 with a 2-2 record in Great west play. The pre-game efficiencies saw both teams similar in pace. Colgate averaged 68 possessions, NJIT 69- a moderate to brisk tempo.

Efficiency-wise, Jim Engles’ NJIT club is performing at a much better rate. They are at the break even mark of efficiency (offense minus defense) with a 98.3 on offense and 97.5 defensively. Colgate, to little surprise, fills the bill of a team in the midst of a long campaign. Their efficiency margin is a -16 with 94 on offense, 110 on defense. Both marks are sub-par, to put it politely.

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Seton Hall defeats DePaul in convincing fashion

NEWARK, N.J. – Seton Hall moved to 4-1 in Big East play with a 94-73 decision over DePaul at the Prudential Center on Tuesday. The 24th ranked Pirates improved to 15-2 overall, while DePaul is now 10-6 (1-3). In a quick-paced 78 possession contest, Seton Hall enjoyed a decisive 121-94 advantage in offensive efficiency. Our points of emphasis from this Big East meeting:

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St. Peter’s holds on to defeat Canisius

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – In a contest featuring a wild finish, St. Peter’s held on to defeat Canisius 65-61 at Yanitelli Center on Thursday night. Three points of emphasis come out of the game:

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Sacrificial Lamb: Defense does it for the Hall

NEWARK, N.J. – Preparing for ninth-ranked UConn, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard knew the guards would be a priority. Willard decided on defending Shabazz Napier as closely as possible, being defensively disruptive and taking him out of the flow. It all worked to near perfection as the Hall posted a huge 75-63 upset at the Prudential Center.

“We figured (Jeremy) Lamb would get his points,” Willard said. “It was pick your poison so we decided to defend Napier as tough as possible.”

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Tempo Free: Women’s Edition

NEW YORK – The first order of business is to look back at last Sunday’s Maggie Dixon Classic from Madison Square Garden. Baylor defeated St. John’s 73-59 in a game that was a challenge for the top-ranked Bears. St. John’s did a great job defending 6-8 Britney Griner and point guard Odyssey Sims. Griner was held to eight shots. She did make six en route to a 17-point, 13-rebound afternoon. Sims shot 2 for 10, scoring eight points. Getting some daylight was redshirt junior forward Brooklyn Pope. She put up a team-high 19 points along with 8 rebounds. In a slow to moderate paced game (Baylor 65 possessions, St. John’s 63) the offensive efficiency:

Baylor       112

St. John’s     94

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Looking back at the Jimmy V

NEW YORK - The Jimmy V Classic, always providing interesting matchups, did not disappoint. The Madison Square Garden doubleheader on Tuesday featured a strong Missouri team followed by an entertaining matchup in the nightcap. The scores:

Missouri 81, Villanova 71

Marquette 79, Washington 77

1. Missouri is good. Very good. The entered the game with a 126 offensive efficiency. Against Villanova, the Tigers put up a very impressive 117. Defensively they allowed a 103 efficiency to Villanova but did force the wildcats into a 22% turnover percentage rate. Frank Haith does not employ a full court pressing defense with this Missouri team. Rather, he’s decided to use a tough man-to-man defense that disrupts offenses an creates turnovers in a half court setting. Offensively he has a solid sharpshooter in Marcus Denmon, a game-high 28 point scorer on 6 of 10 three point shooting. Kim English is a capable guard and scoring threat. At the point Phil Pressey handed out 12 assists while committing just three turnovers in 24 minutes. Inside there is one key player. Ricardo Ratliffe is solid and the 6-8 forward made his presence known against Villanova with a 17 point 11 rebound outing. “Missouri is a tough team,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They are so quick to the ball and rebound very well. They are the type team that can play four guards and be very successful at it.”

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Pre-Season NIT: A Final Analysis

NEW YORK – Syracuse captured the Pre-Season NIT title with a thrilling 69-63 victory over Stanford. A few notes on the consolation/championship doubleheader…

1. Tempo Free gives us a better look. Following the victory over Stanford, Jim Boeheim said his Syracuse team played 35 minutes of “horrendous offense” and five (in the stretch) of good. A tempo free look shows the Orange had 72 possessions and a 96 offensive efficiency (points per possession times 100). The 96 is a bit below average. Boeheim lamented that his offense needed work and thankfully the defense was good both days.

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