Seton Hall vs. Quinnipiac 2016 AdvoCare Invitational final score: What we learned from the Pirates’ 90-79 victory

Seton Hall bounced back from their hard-fought loss to Florida on Thanksgiving with an 90-79 victory over Quinnipiac.

The Pirates fought hard with the Bobcats at the jump, as Tom Moore’s team jumped out to an early advantage thanks to a hot start from the field. Things eventually tapered off though and went in Seton Hall’s favor as they would take the lead going away. Though Quinnipiac made it close at times in the second half, the Pirates would stay in control and came away with the win to improve to 4-1 on the year.

Leading the way for Seton Hall was Desi Rodriguez who dropped 23 points in 37 minutes of action. Khadeen Carrington and Michael Nzei, who got the start due to an injury suffered by Ismael Sanogo, dropped 17 and 19 points respectively as they and Myles Powell and Madison Jones, who scored 12 and 11 on the night, joined Rodriguez in double figures.

What we learned

Seton Hall’s free throw shooting can improve!

The Pirates were particularly bad from the free throw line in Thursday’s loss to the Florida Gators. This has been a common thread for the past few years for Seton Hall, but on Friday night they turned a corner and had a pretty great night from the line, all things considered. The Pirates shot an even 77.1 percent from the line on their 35 attempts, up big from their mark last night and on the season as well. If anything, this rests as nothing but a confidence builder, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Michael Nzei is cool, calm and collected

With Ismael Sanogo sidelined for the night, Michael Nzei was thrusted into the starting lineup. Nzei made it easy as he scored 19 points on just nine shots from the field and went a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. He recorded a double-double to boot as he pulled down 12 boards on the night. Although he wasn’t fixing to be in the starting lineup, Michael Nzei was able to adjust accordingly and had a big night on the floor.

The Pirates can overcome a bad 3-point shooting night

Seton Hall has been doing better from the 3-point line this season, but Friday night’s performance will be one they’ll want to forget. The Hall shot just 3-for-13 from the field, good for a mark of a meager 23.1 percent. That kind of number won’t win many games for you, but the Pirates were able to convert on 27 of their 47 other attempts from the field, good for a mark of 57.44 percent. In short, the Pirates can overcome woeful shooting from the 3-point line, though doing so the rest of the way would likely be pretty ill-advised.