The bad news came down three hours before Seton Hall basketball’s Big East opener: Freshman center Najai Hines, whose forceful interior game was integral to the team’s surprising 10-1 start, was listed as out in league’s newly implemented mandatory player availability report.
No pregame reason was given for his absence – he didn’t make the trip – but the Plainfield native’s Hines absence hardly held the Hall back in a 72-67 victory at Providence Friday.
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Senior center Stephon Payne did everything he could to make up for Hines’ absence, dominating the paint to the tune of 18 points and 16 rebounds.
Seton Hall (11-1, 1-0) came in with a NET ranking of 37 and now owns two impressive road victories.
Providence (7-6 overall, 0-2 Big East) was coming off a 113-110 double-overtime loss at Butler. With the Friars NET at 92 coming in, this is a Quad 2 result for the Hall.
Providence now leads the series, which dates back to 1927, by a count of 60-57, but Seton Hall leads 40-37 in Big East regular-season matchups.
The Pirates are now 9-4 in Big East openers since the conference reconfigured in 2013.
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Shaheen Holloway is now 3-1 all-time at Amica Mutual Pavilion as Seton Hall’s head coach and the Pirates have won 15 games there, more than at any other Big East road venue.
Next up for the Pirates is the much-awaited conference home opener against Villanova and head coach Kevin Willard, who will return to the place where he spent 12 years building Seton Hall from the ashes into an NCAA Tournament regular (with Holloway as his right-hand man for eight of them). The Wildcats took an 8-2 record into Friday’s contest at Wisconsin. Tip time is 7 p.m. on Peacock.
Dec 19, 2025; Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Providence Friars guard Jaylin Sellers (2) shoots against Seton Hall Pirates guard Tajuan Simpkins (2) and forward Stephon Payne III (6) during the first half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
3 THOUGHTS
1. Offense vs. Defense
This was the ultimate clash of opposites.
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Providence has the Big East’s highest-octane offense. The Friars came in averaging 91.7 points per game.
Seton Hall came in with the Big East’s second-rated defense, No. 13 in the country according to the analytics website Kenpom.com (UConn leads at No. 4).
It’s easier to slow a game down than to speed it up, and the Hall did a good job dictating tempo and imposing its physicality, especially throughout a first half that ended with a 35-28 Pirate advantage.
Turnovers always loom large in the Pirates’ plans. They own a streak of at least nine steals in 12 straight games, a program record, and that included 12 steals in this game. But Providence, which came in averaging just 11 turnovers per game, did not commit as many of the backcourt errors that Seton Hall typically turns into points, and the Pirates were outscored in points off turnovers (a rarity).
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2. Different game, different go-to guy
Seton Hall’s offense might not impress Kenpom (offensive ranking: 107), but one thing that makes the Pirates difficult to defend is the variety of players who can burn an opponent on a given day. With top scorer A.J Staton-McCoy struggling against Providence, it was junior guard Tijuan Simpkins who stepped up with 22 points off the bench, including a go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:00 remaining. How do you gameplan for that as an opposing coach? Answer: You really can’t.
3. Good news on Godswill
The Pirates did welcome some good news on the injury front as center Godswill Erheriene played for the first time this season. The 6-foot-9 sophomore, who came on strong at the end of last season, had been sidelined since October with a foot injury.
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Erheriene, who began practicing last week, looked rusty as expected and finished with two fouls and a missed layup in six minutes, posting a plus/minus of minus-2. But his presence was needed on defense when Payne required a break. It helps that he knows Shaheen Holloway’s defensive system. Look for him to continue to see time in the rotation and, since he doesn’t have an ego, embrace whatever role is asked of him.
3 QUOTES
From Shaheen Holloway’s postgame radio interview with Dave Popkin…
(on the way)
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball wins at Providence to open Big East; Payne stars
