Backed by a spectacular night from Senior Kadary Richmond, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team recorded its largest margin of victory against an AP top 5 ranked team in program history, as they defeated the UConn Huskies 75-60 Wednesday night at the Prudential Center. This would mark the 3rd year in a row that Seton Hall had defeated UConn, each time being picked as the underdog. Following the game, a reporter had stated “People are looking at their phones in disbelief right now.” Seton Hall’s’ Richmond responded to this comment by saying “That’s on them.”
Seton Hall point guard Kadary Richmond recorded a season high 23 points, and also tallied 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 8 steals in the win. Senior Dre Davis was also vital in the win against the Huskies, as he logged 17 points, along with 5 rebounds. Al- Amir Dawes scored 11 points, and Jaiden Bediako recorded 10 points and 9 rebounds in his Big East debut. Bediako, who had recently transferred from Santa Clara, impressively held his own against one of the best centers in the nation in Donovan Clingan. Unfortunately for the Huskies, about 14 minutes into the game, Clingan suffered an ankle injury, and was forced to exit the game and did not return. Uconn’s point guard Tristen Newton, led the Huskies in scoring with 16 points, and Alex Karaban tallied nine points with eight rebounds.
The Pirates shot the ball well all night, as they outshot the Huskies from the field 52% to 38%. The Huskies committed 17 turnovers and struggled to shoot against a tough Seton Hall defense as they went an abysmal 4 for 21 from 3-point range.
Despite UConn’s struggles to get shots down, the Huskies established a 10 point lead over the Pirates early on, but that lead quickly dwindled. After the Pirates started to establish a rhythm, they were able to cut the Uconn lead down to 22-16. This was when Seton Hall’s’ Kadary Richmond virtually took over the game, as he ripped off seven straight points, which was part of a 9-0 run that granted Seton Hall their first lead.
The Pirates were able to keep a steady pace of scoring, not allowing UConn to chip away at the Hall lead. The Pirates also benefited from their ability to draw fouls, as they entered the bonus at the 8:44 mark in the second half. Four free throws from Kadary Richmond fueled an 11-2 run that put Seton Hall up 63-48 with under five minutes left, and effectively took UConn out of the game. A breakaway dunk from Dre Davis with 3:29 left in the game extended the Pirates lead to 17, and solidified the upset with swagger.
