Pirates Look to Take Down #1 UConn in Rematch

Published: Friday, January 23, 2026

by Nick Diodato

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall Pirates (14-5, 8-2 CONF) are looking to push their winning streak to five in Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup against the #1 UConn Huskies (20-0, 10-0 CONF). The Pirates are coming off a home win vs the Providence Friars, where the final score was 73-57.

This matchup saw the Pirates get off to a great start defensively, despite a lackluster first half. Seton Hall forced eight turnovers on Providence in just the first quarter and were able to lead by five going into the second. 

At halftime, both teams looked to be playing an extremely sloppy game with turnovers and fouls being handed out left and right. Going into the second half, it looked like it could be anybody's game.  

But, the Pirates turned on the heat in the middle of the third quarter, going on a 19-5 run in the final five minutes and putting up 30 points in the quarter. This was more than enough for them to run away with the win in the fourth quarter and push their winning streak to four.

Seton Hall saw four players score in double digits. Savannah Catalon and Mariana Valenzuela led the way, as Catalon dropped 19 points, four steals, and three rebounds while Valenzuela scored 15 points with eight rebounds.  

On Saturday, The Pirates will need to be on their A-game all day. Any chance UConn gets to pull away or go on a run, they will take. Seton Hall can not afford sloppy play or mistakes, which they have been able to recover from in the past, but would have a difficult job doing against the Huskies.  

In their last matchup at UConn earlier this month, the Pirates looked like they were to keep up with the Huskies fast paced play. However, it was the inevitable full court press that threw off their momentum and gave UConn that opening to take control of the game.  

Looking at this UConn team, they continue to be in control of not just the BIG EAST, but the entire NCAA, being the number one ranked team in the country and looking to win back-to-back National Championships. Led by player of the year candidate Sarah Strong, the Huskies have an average win margin of 38.8 over their opponents.

Seton Hall has not beaten UConn in over 30 years, the last time being January 1994. No Jada Eads also leaves a void at the point guard position, with backup guard Shailyn Pinkey taking over the starting role.

To win Saturday, the Pirates will need to play almost flawlessly and make sure to fire on all cylinders, both offensively and defensively. A win would also give UConn their first loss of the season and show that Seton Hall is a legit contender in the conference.

Tune in on Saturday where Chris Heite and Sean Casey will have the call from Walsh Gymnasium at 12:00 P.M. on 89.5 FM WSOU.

Nick Diodato can be reached at nicholas.diodato@student.shu.edu 

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