Pirates Take on Resurgent Huskies at Home

Published: Saturday, February 15, 2025

by AJ Rayer

The Seton Hall Pirates (6-18, 1-12) will look to regain confidence when they face the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies (17-7, 9-4) on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center.

The Pirates' struggles continued in their last matchup with Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Seton Hall scored a season-low 46 points and committed 20 turnovers in a 60-46 loss. With injuries to sophomore Scotty Middleton and graduate students Chaunce Jenkins and Dylan Addae-Wusu, the team struggled to generate consistent offense and often relied on one-on-one isolations to score.

Isaiah Coleman remains a bright spot for the Pirates. He scored 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting against Georgetown, a strong bounce-back performance after scoring just two points at home against Butler. Coleman leads Seton Hall in scoring this season, averaging 14.9 points per game, which ranks 11th in the Big East.

With multiple injuries, Coach Holloway has continued to show more trust in his freshmen class. Guard Jahseem Felton played all 40 minutes against Georgetown, while center Godswill Erheriene had his most productive outing of the season. He scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in 28 minutes while guarding Big East Player of the Year frontrunner Thomas Sorber.

Turning to UConn, the Huskies have experienced ups and downs this season in their quest for a three-peat. They went 0-3 at the Maui Invitational with losses to Dayton, Colorado and Memphis. In Big East play, injuries have led to several close losses. UConn currently sits in fourth place in the conference and can move up with a win Saturday.

Despite this, the Huskies have started to turn things around in February, picking up key road wins at No. 9 Marquette and, most recently, at No. 24 Creighton. UConn was 0-4 against Creighton in Omaha before its victory Tuesday night. Star freshman Liam McNeeley, returning from an ankle sprain, scored a career-high 38 points on 12-of-22 shooting in the win.

Senior Hassan Diarra and junior Alex Karaban are the two remaining players from both national championship teams and have been leaders for Dan Hurley all season. Diarra ranks fourth in the Big East in assists and is averaging a career-high eight points. Karaban is averaging 14 points per game but has been inconsistent in recent outings.

If Seton Hall wants to compete with UConn on Saturday, it must return to the defensive-minded team it has shown it can be. If the Pirates get back to full strength with the potential returns of Addae-Wusu, Jenkins and Middleton, their offensive production could improve, giving them a fighting chance.

The good news for Pirates fans is that Seton Hall has recently found success against UConn at home. The Pirates have won three straight matchups against the Huskies in New Jersey, including two at Prudential Center.

Joe Morales and Spencer Gonzales will have the call live from Prudential Center at 2:30 p.m. EST. Pregame coverage begins at 2 p.m., hosted by Michael Federico and Michael Bellifemini.

AJ Rayer can be reached at alexander.rayer@student.shu.edu. 

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