Dan Hurley is one of three men in the past half-century to lead his school to back-to-back national titles.
He has developed multiple NBA lottery picks. He was named the national coach of the year. He’s won everywhere he’s been.
Now, he’s done it all.
No. 3 UConn ended its puzzling four-game losing streak in Newark after sweating out a 69-64 win over No. 25 Seton Hall on Tuesday night, in which the national title contender nearly blew an 18-point second-half lead, but ultimately overcame an incredible defensive effort from the Big East’s biggest surprise to produce Hurley’s first true road win in his own backyard.
“The game was exactly what we thought it would be,” said Hurley, a Seton Hall alum, whose head coaching career began blocks away at St. Benedict’s Prep. “I have so much respect for how hard [Shaheen Holloway’s] teams play. They may be the hardest-playing team in the country … That’s a team that’s gonna compete at the top of the league. I wouldn’t want to see Seton Hall’s name drawn next to mine in the NCAA Tournament this year, I’ll tell you that.”
Led by Tarris Reed Jr.’s 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, the Huskies (17-1, 7-0) earned their 13th straight win, while extending their best start in Big East play in 27 years.
UConn had most recently beaten the Pirates (14-3, 4-2) in New Jersey in 2021 in front of a COVID-limited crowd of under 2,000 fans.
The Huskies’ previous win in front of a full crowd in Newark came in 2013.
“Definitely a lot of anger walking into this arena, all the past memories,” UConn senior Alex Karaban said. “I definitely didn’t want to lose here again.”
It didn’t seem possible when the Huskies were dominating the paint and the glass, ending the first half on a 16-2 run to claim a 35-22 lead.
“We got treated like little boys in the first half,” Holloway said. “They just did whatever they wanted to do. They just threw us around … I had to light a fire under these guys’ butts. The second half we came out, it was a different team.”
The Pirates — who were picked to finish last in the Big East, but earned their first AP poll ranking in four years this week — struggled shooting (1-of-16 3-pointers, 15-of-25 free throws), but relied on their unrelenting top 10 defense to fight back, applying 94 feet of pressure and treating each possession as if oxygen was at stake.
The matchup — the first in a quarter-century in which both teams were ranked — had the vibes of March, of a rivalry that makes little sense on paper, but has been repeatedly validated by scoreboards that reward toughness as much as talent.
“Their pressure is hard to deal with,” Hurley said. “You just try to stay positive because you knew it was gonna be a battle.”
After each of UConn’s 10 second-half turnovers (17 total), nearly all of the 9,699 in attendance erupted, enhancing the shifting momentum.
They rose to their feet, and remained there, having seen the Pirates win three straight games despite facing double-digit second-half deficits each time.
With 48 seconds left, Mike Williams (16 points, 1-of-8 3s) hit the Hall’s first 3 to make it 65-64.
UConn, which didn’t hit a field goal in the final 5:41, responded with a pair of made free throws from UConn’s Silas Demary Jr.
The Pirates had another chance to push UConn to the brink of collapse, but Braylon Mullins fought through a screen to block Williams’ game-tying 3 with 18 seconds remaining, allowing the Huskies to escape Newark with a ‘W.’
The Hall exited to a standing ovation, wondering what could have been. “We’re not here for moral victories,” Seton Hall guard Budd Clark said. “We thought we could beat anybody.”