RTC Live returns to North Jersey this evening for some more Big East action, with the Seton Hall Pirates hosting the defending national champion, Connecticut.
Game #61. The Connecticut Huskies will look to win their 12th consecutive game against the Seton Hall Pirates when they make the trip to Newark tonight. UConn has won 25 of the past 27 meetings with Seton Hall dating back to December of 1993, 18+ years of total domination rarely seen in a power conference like the Big East. UConn will be without head coach Jim Calhoun for the third and final time, currently serving out a three game NCAA suspension. Associate head coach George Blaney will be on the sideline in place of Calhoun. Ironically, Blaney served as Seton Hall’s head coach from 1994 until 1997 and his very last win with the Pirates before being fired was one of their two against Connecticut over the past 18 years. The Huskies seem to be putting the pieces together to make a run at the conference championship while Seton Hall is trying to gain momentum towards a possible NCAA bid. The Huskies (12-1, 2-0), winners of seven straight games, shot 60.4% from the floor in Saturday’s win over St. John’s and were led by Shabazz Napier’s 17 points and nine assists. Seton Hall rebounded from an ugly loss at Syracuse last week with a 19-point home drubbing of West Virginia on Friday night. Fuquan Edwin led the Hall (12-2, 1-1) in that game with 19 points.
Join us just before the 7:00 PM eastern tip and follow along with RTC Live for what should be a terrific game between two teams trying to make a mark in the Big East.
Recap:
Eighteen years of total domination and 11 seasons without a single win against one opponent can certainly take its toll. For the Seton Hall Pirates, that’s the reality they faced before last night’s game against the Huskies. Connecticut had won 11 games in a row and 25 of 27 against their Big East counterparts but that streak came to a grinding halt on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center as Seton Hall knocked off the seventh-ranked Huskies, 75-63, notching its first win in the series since March 3, 2001. Jordan Theodore led the Pirates (13-2, 2-1) with 19 points, all coming in the second half, and 11 assists. Seton Hall received balanced scoring from its top four players, Theodore, Herb Pope (15 points), Fuquan Edwin (12) and Aaron Cosby (12). Jeremy Lamb paced Connecticut with 19 points but it wasn’t nearly enough as the rest of the Huskies (12-2, 2-1) team shot 13-43 (30.2%) from the field. Seton Hall shut down Shabazz Napier and forced the UConn point guard into five turnovers. The Huskies committed 13 of their 14 turnovers in the first half, allowing Seton Hall to jump out to a 35-22 lead at intermission. Connecticut actually opened the game on an 11-2 run and held that lead at the 16:15 mark of the first half. After that, it was all Seton Hall. The Pirates proceeded to outscore the Huskies 74-43 over the next 34+ minutes of the game and UConn only cut it to the final margin of 12 when Kevin Willard emptied his bench in the final 90 seconds. It was a thoroughly dominating performance, one that should put Seton Hall into next week’s Top 25, provided it doesn’t slip up at Providence on Saturday. The Pirates haven’t been ranked in the national polls in 11 years but they have a real chance to get back in on Monday. As for Connecticut, it will try to regroup as it stays in New Jersey and faces Rutgers this coming Saturday. Jim Calhoun will be back on the bench as tonight’s game was the last of a three game NCAA suspension for past recruiting violations.