Not that it always means anything but Illinois just played Monmouth and handled them a little easier than Seton Hall. While Monmouth really killed Seton Hall on the Offensive Boards, they weren't really able to do much against Illinois. Also, Illinois was able to shoot 60% on Monmouth, while SH only shot 45%.it's hard to gleam much from either teams two warm up games.
Monmouth 79-52 W
St Peter's 80-44 W
A couple of stats that stand out from the first two games
Seton Hall has been one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to taking care of the basketball in the first two games. According to KenPom, the Pirates are 317th nationally in offensive turnover percentage.
Seton Hall is shooting 67.5 percent from the free throw line. Seton Hall is averaging 38 free throw attempts per game.
The Pirates are ranked 23rd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. They are allowing their opponents to shoot 31.7 percent from the field, which is third nationally, and also have a defensive turnover rate of 29.9, which is ninth nationally.
Opponents are shooting 15.9 percent from three and 36.4 percent on two-point shots, both ranked in the top-15 nationally. However, where Seton Hall has struggled on defense is rebounding, as it has a defensive rebounding rate of 34.1 percent, which is 269th nationally.
However, Monmouth was able to shoot a bit better from 3 against Illinois than against SH ... not sure if that was because SH was able to affect their shooting more or Monmouth just couldn't hit the open shots against SH.
Realistically, it just looks like Monmouth isn't a very good team so tough to make direct comparisons but goes back to if Iowa can attack inside and take care of the ball, I think they will have a good chance.