Backs to the wall, Seton Hall basketball entered the lion’s den and threw everything it had at sixth-ranked UConn Saturday.
It wasn’t quite enough as they fell 71-67 amid some tough late whistles at Gampel Arena after leading with less than a minute left.
With tenacious defense, full-throttle effort and long-awaited shot-making, Seton Hall (19-9, 9-9) led by as many as eight points in the second half and was up by one with 53 seconds left when a tight whistle sent UConn guard Solo Ball to the line for two free throws. The whistle then got swallowed on the other end as Pirate point guard Budd Clark got clobbered while attempting a game-tying 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining.
UConn (26-3, 16-2) was coming off a historic 72-40 drubbing of 15th-ranked St. John’s at home.
Senior guard A.J. Staton-McCray scored 20 to pace the Pirates and freshman center Najai Hines (11 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks) held his own against bulldozer UConn center Tarris Reed (10 points, 11 rebounds, 4 turnovers).
But in the end, it was a missed opportunity to notch a desperately needed signature win, and Seton Hall's path to the NCAA Tournament will boil down to winning the Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden. That's not an outrageous proposition if the Pirates play like this.
Seton Hall’s last win at Storrs came during the fan-less pandemic season of 2020-21. The program’s last win there with fans took place in 1997 – the Pirates are 0-14 at the Huskies’ campus arena with fans since then. The Hall's last three trips to Storrs had ended in losses by an average margin of 23.3 points.
This was different because the Pirates held the upper hand in the hustle statistics: 14-9 in points off turnovers, 14-10 in second-chance points, 10 steals and nine blocks.
But UConn posted a jaw-dropping advantage in second-half free-throw attempts: 21-2. All told, the Huskies outscored the visitor 20-8 from the free-throw line. They also got 23 points from senior standout Alex Karaban, who was the only Husky able to shake loose from Seton Hall's blanketing defense.
3 THOUGHTS
1. Brought the fight to Storrs
The first sign came shortly after tip-off, when Hall wing Elijah Fisher tied up the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Reed for a loose ball. Reed had possession under the Huskies’ basket, and the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Fisher stuck his nose in there, wrapped his arms around the rock and pulled the surprised Reed off his feet.
These Pirates were breathing fire, elbows out, scratching and clawing like a desperate team. It was reminiscent of the way they sprung out of the gate and attacked N.C. State and Kansas State in the non-conference slate. A bye week certainly helped refuel the tank.
It should be noted that Hall coach Shaheen Holloway was limited by the flu all week and clearly was hurting during the game (he wore a mask and took a knee on the sidelines at times). The Pirates also missed backup point guard Trey Parker, who missed the entire week of practice due to an unspecified injury.
2. Shots finally fell
You can say the law of averages kicked in after last week’s 0-for-18 3-point brick-fest against Georgetown. You can postulate that the week off gave everyone a bit more pop in their shooting legs. You can theorize that Budd Clark was dealing (eight assists) as UConn's defense tilted the floor at him.
Whatever the reason – likely a combination of all of the above – the team that came into Saturday ranked last in the Big East in scoring (69 ppg), shooting (.431 field-goal percentage), 3-point shooting (.292), and 3-pointers made per game (4.6) found its stroke against the Big East’s second-best defense and one that just stuffed St. Johns into a locker.
The Hall shot 9-of-18 from 3-point range and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
It’s been said that shooting is contagious. Sometimes it just takes one guy to light the match. That guy was Staton-McCray, and Mike Williams followed suit.
It’s been written here several times this season that the Hall’s offense generated enough good looks to win a game, but the players just flat-out misfired. The looks were similar but those misfires were far fewer today – and what a difference it made.
3. This version of Seton Hall can do damage
The big question as the season winds down: Is this kind of effort sustainable? The Pirates have played tough defense all season. Can they keep the physicality dialed all the way up while hitting shots?
If they can, they certainly are capable of making a run in the Big East Tournament.
A good test will come in the next game, at Xavier (13-15, 5-12) on Tuesday (7 p.m. truTV). A win there likely secures a bye as top-five seed in they tourney. The Pirates have now pushed UConn hard twice and played St. John’s to the wire on the road. Don’t close the book on this team just yet.
3 QUOTES
From Shaheen Holloway’s postgame radio interview with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin:
When asked about the 21-2 disparity in free-throw attempts in the second half: “How about that? Once again, you said it, I’m just answering the question. That’s crazy. Let’s just make sure we understand how crazy this is, to take 21 free throws and we took only two. That’s crazy – that should never happen.”
“I can’t believe that. I’m sick already – that’s making me more sick.”
On the no-call when Budd Clark got clobbered while shooting a 3-pointer in the final minute: “We know they’re fouling, the referees know they’re fouling, obviously you’ve got to be smart (about getting a shot up) and he felt like he got fouled. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
On the opportunity missed: “Today was a great chance for us to prove it, and I thought we did that for 38 minutes, but man, man, man, unbelievable opportunity we let slip by. I want to give my guys credit. I wasn’t really around the whole week because I was dealing with the flu. Guys came out and competed in a hostile environment like this. I don’t know how many times we’ve got to come here on Senior Night; this is three or four years in a row (it’s three years straight).”
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 nipped at No. 6 UConn amid tough whistles