UConn basketball held off a second half surge from the Seton Hall Pirates to win 69-64.
The nightmare is over! For the first time since 2021, UConn basketball has beaten Seton Hall on the road. This is the first time in Alex Karaban’s career that the Huskies have won against the Pirates in New Jersey.
The Huskies remain undefeated in Big East play as they improve to 7-0 and continue to hold the top stop in the conference.
The game opened up exactly how you would expect this matchup to go in Newark. There were nine lead changes through the 5:50 mark in the first half. Then the Huskies showed up as they went on one of their patented kill-shot runs.
The 14-0 run lasted over a 4-minute stretch and gave the Huskies a 13-point lead that they happily took into the halftime break. The first half ended with UConn basketball holding an advantage of 10 to 2 in assists, 22 to 13 in rebounds, and 24 to 10 in paint points.
The second half opened similarly as the Huskies extended their lead to its largest at 18 points. UConn basketball went back to the basics of scoring extremely well in the paint combined with getting out quick in transition to take control of this game.
Sometime around the under-12 media timeout, things changed. Seton Hall’s press started creating turnovers, their “in your face” defensive style bothered UConn basketball’s shooters, and most importantly they started scoring points.
That 18 point lead got as small as 1 point down the stretch, but unlike the previous 4 times the Huskies held on to win the game despite not scoring a field goal for the final 5:42 of the contest.
The good
Tarris Reed Jr. had a monster night for UConn basketball as he finished with 21 points on 8 for 13 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Tarris was an extremely reliable option in this game and a lot was asked of him. He played 33 minutes which is just the 4th time this season that Reed Jr. has logged 30+ minutes in a game.
As much as it seems impossible, there are a few clutch moments that are worth noting. Freshman Braylon Mullins showed experience beyond his age with a couple tough buckets late in the second half to silence the crowd after a Seton Hall run.
Silas Demary Jr. was so steady at the free throw line in front of a hostile crowd that felt like they were going to pull off the upset again. Having players the team can rely on in those late game situations may come in handy in March.
The bad
Seton Hall entered the game ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in four years yet lost the game they had so consistently won in the same stretch. In past seasons, the Pirates relied on a victory over UConn basketball to bolster their tournament resume, but this season they might not even need it to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
It’s no secret that the Pirates’ strength lies on the defensive end of the floor. With that being said, scoring just 22 points in the first half won’t lead to many victories. Their 42-point second half surge gave them a serious shot at pulling the upset off, but they just couldn’t do enough to dig themselves out of their own hole.
The ugly
This should be UConn’s next practice:
1. Learn how to inbound/break press
2. Free throwsThat’s it
— Step Back Cardiac Review (@CardiacCTReview) January 14, 2026
Sure, a win is a win, but when the expectations are to play at a championship caliber level that is just not good enough. From free throw shooting to inbounding to breaking a press, the Huskies put plenty of tape out there for Dan Hurley to critique.
The Huskies shot 61.5% from the free throw line while Seton Hall did even worse at 60.0%. UConn basketball’s struggles primarily came from Tarris Reed Jr. who accounted for 8 of their 10 misses as he went 5 for 13. It’s great to see Tarris be aggressive because it allows him to be the game wrecker that Dan Hurley knows he can be, but the conversion rate at the line needs to be addressed.
UConn basketball averaged 11.2 turnovers per game heading into this contest which will surely increase after they turned the ball over 17 times. The main culprit was inbounding the ball and breaking the press. Shaheen Holloway knows this has been a struggle and opened the game with his defense full-court pressing the Huskies. Whether it’s quicker decision making or better off-ball movement, UConn basketball needs to improve this area of their game before more opponents take advantage of this weakness.
Next for UConn basketball: at Georgetown (Sat., Jan. 17 at 12 p.m. EST)
Next for Seton Hall: vs Butler (Sat., Jan. 17 at 12 p.m. EST)
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