Seton Hall vs Providence recap: Seton Hall upsets Providence 81-72

After the Seton Hall Pirates beat Wichita State about a month ago, many were calling it one of the best wins of the season for the Pirates.

Now they can change it to today, where they beat a highly ranked Providence Friars team 81-72 as Seton Hall ended their two game losing streak to earn their 3rd win in the BIG EAST.

It was a great start for Seton Hall, as they played a fantastic 20 minutes of basketball. Seton Hall focused on the paint against Providence in the first half and took advantage of that. The Pirates scored 22 points in the paint in the first half and took the game to Providence, who came in as the 12th ranked team in the country. Seton Hall were led by Isaiah Whitehead, who had 10 points and shot 50% from the field in the first half. Whitehead helped Seton Hall to shoot 49% as a team in the first half. The same couldn't be said about the Friars as they shot a horrific 27% from the field including a woeful two out of 14 from deep in the first twenty minutes. They were also outrebounded as Seton Hall held a 29-18 lead on the glass. It looked like this game was heading towards blowout status.

As the second half began, Providence began to show life as they tried to make a comeback at home. Providence was led by their stars Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil, who had 21 points to lead the team in scoring.  But Seton Hall kept holding off Providence time after time again. It was a huge showing from a young team on the road in a very hostile environment. The real killer for Providence came when Kris Dunn fouled out with a couple of minutes remaining and it essentially sealed the game for Providence. In the end it was a huge 81-72 win for Seton Hall as they beat Providence on the road.

Seton Hall were led by the 22 points of Kadeem Carrington who hit 12 free throws in this game. Providence were led by the 21 points of Ben Bentil who also made 12 free throws.

Here are three things we learned from this game.

1. Rough shooting night for Providence

It was a horrific shooting night for Providence, and that's being nice about it. Providence shot 30.1% from the field. 30.1%. That's not good enough for a top ranked team. They made 22 out of 73 field goal attempts and everyone but Kris Dunn seemed to have a bad shooting night. Even Bentil, who led the team in scoring, shot only four of out 15 from the field. It was just a bad shooting night for Providence no doubt about it.

2. Kris Dunn can't foul out like that

Even though they shot horribly from the field, Providence was still in the game and the momentum was taken right away when Kris Dunn fouled out. A player like Dunn can't foul out like that when his team needs him the most. His 4th offensive foul was one he could have avoided and one that makes you cringe. He had 16 points and played well in the game but he can't foul out like that.

3. Seton Hall is playing like a March Madness Cinderella

It's been a crazy year for Seton Hall and they are playing like a dragon slayer. First the win over Wichita State and now this. Seton Hall has shown they can thrive under pressure and go on the road and beat a ranked team, something many teams can't do in the NCAA. They are looking like a March Madness Cinderella in terms of Big East play and don't be surprised if they make some noise in the BIG EAST tournament and maybe the NCAA tournament.