Seton Hall Basketball: Seton Hall 69, VCU 54

By John Lopiano

After stumbling to an overtime victory over St. Francis last week, it was incredibly reasonable to assume that Seton Hall would struggle against a tournament tested Virginia Commonwealth team, even with only one returning start.

The Pirates did the exact opposite.

The way the Hall played transcended the scoreline, on both the offense and defensive ends. It’s tough to successfully have a team of mostly freshman work together so fluidly after just one game, but somehow head coach Kevin Willard will be sleeping well tonight knowing he was able to do just that.

For all the success the Pirates were able to have tonight, there was one major stat that was troublesome: bench points. Seton Hall had zero, as in none. Not any. Zilch.

The team was without sophomore Patrik Auda for the entire second half and then some after his controversial, albeit correctly called flagrant two foul and yet still were able to avoid having to pay for their depth issues late in the game. Up until the ejection, Auda had been having a pretty solid game on both ends of the court (despite two turnovers and two personal fouls); and throw in the fact that Seton Hall was left with just one big man on the bench in sophomore Aaron Geramipoor, it was a cause for concern.

If the Pirates plan to win games, they can’t rely on their upperclassmen in the way they did against VCU. Herb Pope, Jordan Theodore, and Fuquan Edwin combined for 58 of the Pirates’ 69 total points. Yikes.

Kudos to Herb Pope who finally looks like the player we all know he could be. After all that he’s been through and how hard he said he’s worked over the summer, it’s clearly come out in his game thus far through two games. He’s lighter on his feet, quicker, more agile, and clearly not shying away from crashing the boards. He tallied 20 points and 13 rebounds tonight, clearly demonstrating all of the work he did this summer with John Lucas down in Houston, Texas.

Jordan Theodore did some great things scoring, but it was his poise that was most impressive. He looked like the floor general all night, something he is going to need to be for this Pirate offense to successfully function. With his 20 points, four assists, and two rebounds, however, came five turnovers, something Pirate fans are all too familiar seeing. Theodore has been a turnover machine for a majority of his career, so that will be something to keep an eye on this year. It’s worth noting that he was a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line. He’s steadily improving that aspect of his game and it’s become evident.

Fuquan Edwin’s made his presence known in a massive way as well, drilling four three pointers and finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and a block. After having an all-around successful freshman campaign, it would be a huge lift for the Pirates to have him perform this way nightly.

Thursday’s showing can only be a good sign for Pirate fans, however the lack of production from the young bench is the exact opposite. In order for the Pirates to have any success this season, they must use the little depth they have to generate scoring opportunities, something that was lacking against VCU.

The Pirates will face St. Joseph’s today (Friday) at 6:00 p.m. for a chance to move into the championship game on Sunday evening.