UConn Basketball Stunned At Seton Hall: 3 Takeaways

UConn basketball fell in a wild finish at Seton Hall, 69-68.

The Prudential Center has not been kind to UConn basketball as they have now lost four games in a row there following a wild overtime loss at the hands of a struggling Seton Hall team.

The first half was an ugly one, with both teams struggling from the opening jump on the offensive end. Several scoreless droughts plagued the Huskies as Seton Hall used an 11-0 run to take the lead and to extend their lead all the way to 8.

UConn basketball did close out the half well, capped off by a Solo Ball three to bring the Huskies into a 25-22 deficit at the break. This was one of the worst shooting halves UConn basketball has had in years, going 8-28 from the floor and only 15.4% from the three-point line.

Seton Hall held the lead for the first 12 minutes of the second half as well as both teams continued to struggle to shoot the ball until UConn went on a mini run to go up 39-37.

The game seemed in hand with UConn up 7 points with 45 seconds to go in the game. UConn’s inability to inbound the basketball, missed free throws, and a clutch shot by Dylan Addae-Wusu to tie the game in the final seconds sent this game into overtime.

But it gets worse for UConn basketball fans as the Huskies seemingly had the game in hand once again, only to see the same mistakes happen and Scotty Middleton tipped in a missed shot in the closing seconds to give Seton Hall a 69-68 victory in overtime.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Final@keybank pic.twitter.com/0K9FSGiW2L

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 15, 2025

Takeaway #1: UConn basketball’s ceiling is capped

There are no positive spin zones for this game. UConn basketball blew the game several times and deserves all the criticism in the world for doing so. A performance like this early in the season would be forgivable but March Madness is now a month away.

This is a Seton Hall team that was 1-12 in Big East play and were 13.5 point underdogs at home. UConn basketball did not play with enough urgency and they continued to make the same mistakes that have cost them games all season.

The end of game execution was awful, with several inexcusable turnovers which included a 5 second call, throwing the ball out of bounds, and turning the ball over by dribbling into a double team (although this should have been a foul call).

A championship level team would not make these kind of mistakes on a routine basis like the team has this season and these mistakes have finally caught up to UConn.

This loss will now cap UConn on how high they can be seeded in the NCAA Tournament with UConn looking to be locked into the 7, 8, or 9 seed range.

UConn basketball has proven they can beat quality teams, having won on the road against Creighton, Texas, and Marquette, but have also shown they can lose to sub-par teams including Colorado and Seton Hall.

This is still a team no one would want to face in March, but the team’s streakiness limits how far the team will ultimately be able to go. A Sweet Sixteen appearance now appears to be best case scenario for the team.

Takeaway #2: Seton Hall gets a much-deserved win.

This season has been one that most Seton Hall fans would like to forget. Following their NIT championship last season after being snubbed from the NCAA tournament, many fans of the program had hoped this momentum could carry over into this season.

This has not been the case as Seton Hall has been the worst team in the Big East and were 6-18 on the season coming into the game. Seton Hall had previously gone 13 straight games without having a lead at halftime as they have been struggling during Big East play. The tides turned in this game however, as Seton Hall played exceptional defense on UConn and took a lead into halftime.

Seton Hall wasn’t satisfied with that though, they continued to put pressure on UConn throughout the second half as well as overtime. The ending of a game winning tipped bucket was déjà vu from UConn’s loss nearly 2 seasons ago at Seton Hall when Ndefo put back in a shot to give Seton Hall a last second victory over UConn.

The Pirates deserve all the credit in the world for pulling this game out when it appeared out of reach several times. A win like this won’t do anything for the team this season but could be used as a culture builder and give the team some momentum going into next season.

Takeaway #3: Ahmad Nowell needs some run time

UConn basketball has a point guard problem. Hassan Diarra is hobbled and Dan Hurley has lost faith in Aidan Mahaney. This has left the team playing long stretches without a floor general.

This has caused pacing problems with UConn’s offense and the team often has several stretches where the offense looks stagnant and indecisive.

Ahmad Nowell could be an answer to this problem but UConn basketball is running out of time to deploy him. He has been hampered with injuries this season as well but is healthy and ready to go at this point.

It may be risky but the team needs to try to find answers and Ahmad Nowell should be given a chance to prove that he can turn this UConn basketball season around.

Next up for UConn basketball (17-8): vs. Villanova (15-10) – Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. EST

Next up for Seton Hall basketball (7-18): at Marquette (19-6) – Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. EST