UConn men’s basketball pulled out a come-from-behind win against a Seton Hall team that was fighting for its postseason life, winning 71-67 thanks to 23 points from Alex Karaban on Senior Day. The four-year Husky hit 5-of-6 threes and two clutch free throws at the end to ice the contest.
This win improves UConn’s record to 27-3 and 17-2 in the Big East. The Huskies remain as the No. 1 seed ahead of St. John’s in the conference, with the Johnnies having Villanova, Georgetown, and Seton Hall still to play.
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Karaban played his best game of the year, after a pre-game ceremony where he earned the distinction of being added to the Huskies of Honor. The 23 points are a career high as he played all 40 minutes. Solo Ball put up 14 points while Tarris Reed Jr recorded his third double-double in four games with 10 points and 11 boards.
For Seton Hall, AJ Staton-McCray led the Pirates with 20 points on 4-for-8 from downtown, and Najai Hines posted an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench. They led for 20 minutes in a game that saw 11 ties and 18 lead changes.
UConn was missing Jaylin Stewart for the second straight game, allowing for more opportunities from the bench unit. Jayden Ross was a spark, scoring 7 points and making a big three-pointer.
Up 68-65 with 15 seconds to go, Silas Demary got away with a foul as Bud Clark timed a three-point shot with the take foul nearly perfectly with a shot. The referees didn’t see enough contact as Clark threw up an airball. UConn then won the game from the line, making 20 of their 29 free throws.
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The game had a slow, foul-ridden start, unlike Wednesday night against St. John’s, with just 23 combined points in the first 10 minutes. Reed Jr. got going early on the defensive end and picked up a block. Seton Hall showed why they lead the Big East in blocked shots, picking up 3 in the first 10 minutes. UConn had multiple open looks from Braylon Mullins, but the freshman just couldn’t get them to fall.
The game picked up the pace when Jayden Ross came off the bench, making his first shot from downtown and followed it up with a wide-open slam down low. Seton Hall stayed right in it, as Tajuan Simpkins hit a three-pointer of his own. Karaban made his first shot from beyond the arc with 6:30 to go, burying another just two minutes later, putting himself in double figures, scoring eight straight for the Huskies.
Both teams were matching each other’s pace, with 16 lead changes in the first half. Both teams were holding strong defensively, each forcing 6 turnovers.
A late bucket by Najai Hines put Seton Hall up 33-32 at the halftime break. Karaban had 15 points on 3-of-4 from long distance and 6-of-8 overall.
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Solo Ball got it going early in the 2nd half after a scoreless, 0/3 first half. He hit a pair of threes, but UConn’s 9 turnovers a few minutes into the 2nd half kept Seton Hall in the game, giving them a 42-40 lead with just over 15 minutes to play. After hitting his threes, Ball got ahead of himself, making questionable shooting decisions and turning the ball over.
It’s been an ongoing problem this season. Ball makes a few shots and decides to get loosey goosey. We saw it in the Arizona loss, shooting a heavily contested three late, which led to a score on the other end.
The Pirates held UConn without a field goal for over four minutes with an and-one from Eric Reibe to stop the drought. Mike Williams responded on the other end, nailing his third triple to go up 51-46 with 10:30 remaining. Seton Hall extended their run in the second half to 12-3 from a Staton-McCray long-range bucket, giving the Pirates an 8-point lead. It was the senior’s fourth three-pointer to put him up to 16 points on the day.
At that point, Seton Hall was 8-of-12 from three, a 67% mark, the complete opposite of its first meeting with UConn, when it went 1-of-16.
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Out of the UConn timeout, Karaban got his first points of the half, hitting his fourth trifecta to cut the Pirates’ lead to 4, forcing a Seton Hall timeout.
The senior refused to lose, launching a heat check with 6 minutes to go, cutting the lead to one, and who else but Braylon Mullins, hitting another three to give UConn the lead. Seton Hall missed eight straight shots until Staton-McCray made a tough layup over two Huskies’ defenders.
Elijah Fisher stepped up big for the Pirates, making a clutch corner triple with 3:23 to go and a smooth jumper to tie the game at 63 with 2 minutes to play.
With a minute to go in what seemed like a broken possession, Solo Ball was fouled and got to the charity stripe, making both to go up 66-65. Silas Demary forced a tough shot from Adam Clark. Karaban then made two from the line to make it a 68-65 lead with under 25 seconds to play.
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The one knock on the afternoon was the turnovers. Seton Hall scored 14 points off of the 15 UConn turnovers. When gearing up for March, you have to fire on all cylinders, and not being able to hold onto the basketball could cost the Huskies a late run in the NCAA tournament.
UConn will get the week off and will visit last-place Marquette on March 7. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on FOX. The Huskies will then go to the Big Apple for the Big East Tournament, which starts March 11.
