When No. 6 UConn first met Seton Hall this season, both programs were chasing the top of the conference standings. The Huskies (26-3, 16-2) were perfect in conference play, and the Pirates (19-9, 9-8) were ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll.
Saturday’s rematch at Gampel Pavilion comes under different circumstances.
Seton Hall nearly came all the way back from an 18-point second half deficit during the first matchup on Jan. 13. The deciding moment came at the hands of Braylon Mullins. His fingertips to be exact.
Mike Williams curled around a screen to find himself with a seemingly open three-point look on the wing with 17 seconds left and Seton Hall trailing 67-64. Mullins clawed his way around the screen and leapt out, narrowly tipping the shot and veering it off course. Head Coach Dan Hurley credited him after the game.
“Braylon’s just a special guy,” Hurley said. “He’s physically strong, he’s got a knack and a toughness down the stretch of games.”
The Huskies would go on to win 69-64, and Hurley snapped a four-game losing streak against his alma mater in the Prudential Center. Seton Hall had won four of its last five games and were tied for second in the conference standings prior to the loss. That’s where it all fell apart.
The Pirates proceeded to lose their subsequent three games. The four-game slide neutralized any hope for a regular season title. Seton Hall is 5-6 since falling to Connecticut and stands just one game over .500 in conference play.
The Pirates will look to spoil The Huskies’ hopes of claiming the regular season crown. UConn strengthened its position on Wednesday with arguably the team’s most impressive win of the season over No. 15 St. John’s, 72-40.
UConn’s defensive identity was back and on display. The Red Storm scored the fewest total points a team head coached by Rick Pitino has ever scored. They didn’t make a basket for the final 17:38 of the game, missing 24 consecutive shots.
In the middle of it all was Tarris Reed Jr.
Reed anchored the paint in the dismantling of the Johnnies. He earned a career high six blocks to go along with a 20-point double-double. He shut down the Big East Player of the Year front runner Zuby Ejiofor, allowing just six points on the night.
“The season is going to go with the way Tarris goes,” Hurley said. “If he repeats that, we’re not going to lose many more games the rest of the way.”
The Huskies’ starting center also had a monster game against Seton Hall in January. Reed took advantage of the undersized Pirate’s roster which features 6-foot-9 Stephon Payne taking most of the minutes at center.
Reed posted 21 points while pulling down nine rebounds for a near double-double. His shortcoming in that game? Free throws. Reed was 5/13 from the line while the team was 16-for-26 overall, leaving the door open for a Seton Hall comeback.
Budd Clark was the engine behind the Pirates’ comeback. The 5-foot-10 guard scored 12 points. The Huskies had no answers for his pull up jumper. Clark’s intensity on the defensive end of the floor disrupted several of UConn’s sets. He fouled out with less than 30 seconds to go in regulation.
Clark is No. 4 in the conference for assists per game with 4.7 and is the Pirates’ second leading scorer. He scored a season-high 31 points against Providence on Feb. 11.
Saturday will also mark Senior Night at Gampel Pavilion. Reed will be honored before the game alongside Alex Karaban, Malachi Smith, Alec Millender and Dwayne Koroma.
Alex Karaban, the longest tenured player of the senior group, started on both the 2023 and 2024 National Championship teams.
“I’ve tried not to think about it. I can get emotional, so I think probably I will cry,” Karaban said. “We just got to get to Saturday and see what happens.”
Tipoff is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 12 p.m. and is available to watch on FOX.