UConn looks to end their four-game losing streak to Seton Hall at the Prudential Center.
The No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team is set for its toughest test in Big East play so far this season,as the Huskies travel to Newark for a clash with No. 25 Seton Hall (14-2, 4-1) on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center looking to expand on its best conference start in the past 25 years.
The Pirates rank No. 43 in KenPom, with the No. 9 defense in the country, and 38th in the NET. Shaheen Holloway has his team exceeding expectations across the board from the preseason, turning heads and surprising everyone with how much success they’ve had. Seton Hall entered the AP Top 25 on Monday, its first appearance in the poll since January 2022.
As for UConn (16-1, 6-0), the Huskies sit No. 9 in KenPom and No. 8 in the NET. They have the fourth rated defense in the country per KenPom, a continued step in the right direction from last season. The Huskies have won 12 straight games since their only loss of the year to Arizona. On Saturday, they led wire-to-wire in a home victory over DePaul in Hartford.
If you’ve been living under a rock and aren’t aware, UConn is in the midst of a four-game losing streak on the road at Seton Hall, usually losing in crushing fashion in a game that it was expected to win. Could they flip the script this time around against a ranked Pirates squad?
Date/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 8:00 p.m. EST
TV/Stream: truTV, HBO Max
Radio: UConn Sports Network, Sirius XM 202, Sirius/XM online streaming
Odds: UConn -6.5, O/U 131.5
Location: Prudential Center — Newark, New Jersey
KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 68, Seton Hall 63
Series History
The Huskies and Pirates have played 74 times in their history throughout their time as members of the Big East. UConn has a 50-24 advantage, but is just 6-5 since rejoining the Big East in 2020. They last faced off on March 8, 2025 when UConn beat Seton Hall, 81-50 at Gampel Pavilion for Senior Day. Solo Ball led five Huskies in double figures with 17 points.
Availability report
The Huskies are expected to have all 15 players healthy as they’ve had the past two games.
What to Watch For
Is it finally the year?
At this point it may be the most infamous stat surrounding the UConn basketball program: Dan Hurley and his Huskies can’t buy a win in the Prudential Center. Let’s take a trip down memory road, shall we?
The skid started in the 2021-22 season, where the Huskies were playing their first game in nearly three weeks due to a combo of COVID issues and Christmas break. Despite five scorers in double figures led by a monster 18 and 16 from Adama Sanogo, UConn fell 90-87 in overtime after Kadary Richmond dropped 27 points off the bench for the Pirates.
Then the following year, the Huskies had perhaps the most heartbreaking of the losses. Leading by one with 15 seconds remaining when Seton Hall called timeout, UConn got the stop it was looking for before KC Ndefo came out of nowhere for a putback layup with two seconds remaining, securing a comeback win for the Pirates in which they trailed by as many as 15.
Up next, perhaps the weirdest of the four. The “37 win-destroy everyone in their path” Huskies lost by 15 points in December 2023, just their second defeat of the season. Donovan Clingan went down with an injury after scoring a dominant 14 points in 14 minutes in the first half. It was Richmond who starred again for Hall, scoring 23 points and picking up eight steals.
Finally, Seton Hall came into last year’s game with a 1-12 record in conference play, 6-18 overall. Richmond was long gone, now playing at St. John’s. Everything was shaping up to be an easy UConn win, until it didn’t. The Pirates won in overtime for the second time of the streak, 69-68, after leading for most of the game. UConn had the ball and lead with less than 10 seconds remaining, but a turnover gave the Hall a chance to win and they took advantage, scoring with three seconds left on another offensive rebound like they did two years prior.
Could this finally be the year that the Huskies break through? I mean, two-time champion Alex Karaban is as decorated a college basketball player we’ve seen in recent memory and even he can’t seem to check this one off his bucket list.
Don’t expect a shootout
Enough with all those traumatizing flashbacks. Focusing back in on Tuesday’s game, it would be surprising if this one is played any higher than in the low-70s on the scoreboard. Both UConn and Seton Hall’s defenses check in in the Top 10 on KenPom. Under Holloway, the Pirates have always been solid on that end of the ball, even if it didn’t amount to many wins.
The other two games that UConn played against Top 10 defenses this year had final scores of 71-67 (Arizona) and 77-73 (Florida). I’d guess those would be on the high end compared to what we’ll see in Newark.
The most points Seton Hall has surrendered in a league game this year is 73 to Marquette. They’ve only allowed 80 or more once this season and it was a 83-81 loss to USC in Maui. The Pirates don’t give up a lot, but also don’t score a crazy amount either. This could be one of those good ole’ fashioned high 50s to low 60s physical matchups that haven’t gone the Huskies’ way there over the years.
A star is born… officially, at least
Braylon Mullins is starting to consistently show the potential that got fans so excited when he first committed. That’s part of the reason why his foot injury that knocked him out the first few weeks of the season was so devastating to the fanbase and team. It took him some time to get his footing (figuratively and literally) before he got into a groove, minus that explosion at Allen Fieldhouse.
In conference play, Mullins is averaging 14 points per game on 44% from behind the arc. Last week alone he put up 20 points per game on 53% from three. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but with the delay due to the injury, the past few weeks have all but turned the freshman into the superstar that he was expected to be.
Sidenote as well, in four true road games this year Mullins is averaging 16.5 points per game on 49% from distance. Not a bad toy to have at your disposal when trying to snap a certain streak.
Stand your ground
Seton Hall only makes 5.5 threes a game on just 16.7 attempts on average, both of which are numbers that are by far the lowest in the conference. The Pirates thrive on turning opponents over and creating transition opportunities for easy buckets, ranking first in the league in steals and blocks per night. It will be crucial for UConn to control that spectrum of the game, limiting turnovers and consequently run out opportunities and force Seton Hall to beat them with their half court offense.
The Huskies played stifling defense in the half court in the first half particularly in their last game against DePaul, forcing challenging looks and turnovers. Bringing that same intensity will be the key. It’s not easy to do on the road against a ranked team, but don’t let the Pirates dictate the flow of the game and don’t let them play at their ideal pace.
Player of the week, now what?
Earlier on Monday, Silas Demary Jr. was named the Big East Player of the Week for his efforts mainly in the Providence win where he had 23 points and 15 assists. Overall on the week, the Georgia transfer averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 assists and four steals per game. For the first time as a Husky, Demary looked comfortable on the perimeter when it came to his 3-point shot, drilling multiple triples in three-straight games after not doing it once in his first 14.
Now comes perhaps his toughest test of the year in conference play. Budd Clark may be small, but the Merrimack transfer has been the engine that’s fueled Seton Hall to where they’ve gotten this season. Listed at 5-foot-10, the junior guard plays much bigger than his size and is fearless. Demary was quoted after the Marquette game saying that some of his defensive struggles he’s gone through this season have been while guarding smaller players. Well, the seven-inch height difference will be one to watch for, and one that may dictate who comes out on top at the end of the night.
Category: General Sports
