Seton Hall's NCAA Tournament bubble officially popped after heartbreaking loss

The Pirates let another opportunity slip through its hands against the Huskies

Feb 28, 2026; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Adam Clark (0) reacts after a call as they take on the UConn Huskies in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Seton Hall’s NCAA Tournament hopes were hanging on by a thread.

After a strong non-conference, the Pirates stumbled throughout Big East play and slowly saw its March Madness dreams vanishing but still had two major games on his schedule to get back into the tournament picture – on the road against No. 6 UConn and hosting No. 15 St. John’s.

It was time to get busy or die trying and Shaheen Holloway’s team died a cruel and unusual death in Storrs on Saturday afternoon in a 71-67 loss.

After leading by as many as eight points in the second half, the Huskies showed its championship pedigree again, rattling off ten consecutive points to take a two-point lead with 6:00 remaining.

But to Seton Hall’s credit they didn’t go quietly. The Pirates tied the game twice inside the final four minutes and held a 61-59 lead with 3:23 left. Yet UConn’s ability to get to the free throw line was the difference.

All its points in the final 2:24 came from the charity stripe but not for without controversy.

The Huskies lead 68-65 with 14.5 seconds left and, with only four team fouls in the second half, were fouling Pirate point guard Budd Clark intentionally to waste time. Clark, after the first foul, realized Silas Demary Jr. was going do it again and he took a shot with Demary grabbing him, hoping to draw three free throws with a chance to tie the game.

Instead, there was no foul called and the shot was an airball as UConn was able to ice the game at the free throw line.

The loss essentially eliminated Seton Hall from the at-large conversation for the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in the regular season finale against St. John’s. It would need to win the Big East Tournament to go dancing.

“I can’t believe that. I’m sick already. That’s making me more sick,” Shaheen Holloway said in his postgame radio interview about the 21-2 free throw disparity in the second half. “Let’s just make sure we understand how crazy this is, to take 21 free throws and we took only two. That’s crazy. That should never happen.”

“We know they’re fouling; the referees know they’re fouling,” Holloway said about the final sequence. “Obviously you’ve got to be smart, and [Clark] felt like he got fouled. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

While UConn cements its case to be a No. 1 seed, the Pirates are left wondering about what could have been a magical afternoon. Now, Seton Hall must recalibrate to finish its regular season before the Big East Tournament begins in two weeks.