#25 Seton Hall Falls to #3 UConn in Heartbreaking 69-64 Loss

Published: Wednesday, January 14, 2026

by Chris Heite

NEWARK, N.J. - The #25 Seton Hall Pirates (14-3, 4-2) fell the #3 UConn Huskies (17-1, 7-0) in a heartbreaker, losing 69-64 on Tuesday night.

One thing to note from the start was the sheer energy from the Rock, with a sold out crowd and electric student section. The game started off hot, with both sides going shot for shot on offense. In the early stages of the first half, Mike Williams III surprisingly led the way for the Pirates, improving upon his struggles from previous BIG EAST matchups.

At the 11:37 mark, the Hall was holding on to a 12-11 lead. After that, the Huskies stormed their way out to a double digit lead. 

Led by Tarris Reed Jr., the Huskies were primed to finally break their four year losing streak at Prudential. Going into the half, UConn had a 35-22 lead. With the passion of Coach Dan Hurley, along with the energy from the third ranked team, the Pirates had their work cut out for them in this one.

A lack of production at the free throw line along with offensive struggles threw the Pirates behind by the end of the first half. 

The second frame of play proved to be one of the most exciting for a Pirates team that faced the #3 team in the nation, as from what seemed like the lowest point of the game for the Pirates proved to be the turning point.  Coach Shaheen Holloway would receive a technical foul in the early stages of the second, but after the foul, the Pirates proceeded to claw their way back to cut the lead.

While the end result was a loss which featured the Seton Hall comeback come up just short, the Pirates proved themselves to the nation in this half of basketball. Down 18 points, Seton Hall would go on to cut the lead to the smallest margin of one with under a minute to go.

Williams III can be credited, leading the team in scoring with 16 on the night. At the end of the day, when playing the #3 team in the country, the Hall’s defense shined the brightest. 

However, the Pirates as a whole struggled from downtown all night, connecting on just one three-pointer, going 1/16, while they only hit on 60% of their free throws in the five point loss.

Seton Hall will look to rebound on Saturday, where they welcome Butler to the Rock with an early tipoff at 12 p.m.  Tune into 89.5 WSOU, where Nick DiBlasi and Ryan Nelke will have the call, covering all the action.

Chris Heite is the Station Manager and can be reached at christopher.heite@student.shu.edu.

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