January 28, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Adam Clark (0) is guarded by Xavier Musketeers guard All Wright (3) during the first half at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Seton Hall, still reeling from a tough loss at UConn, is in Cincinnati on Tuesday night to take on Xavier in a Big East battle.
The Pirates (19-10, 9-9 Big East) missed a key opportunity to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resume Saturday. They led the Huskies by as many as 8 points in the second half, but lost 71-67.
Most of the conversation after the game centered on the Huskies’ 21-2 lead on late free throw attempts.
Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway called the gap “crazy” in his postgame radio show remarks and said it made him sicker while he was already dealing with the flu.
“Ah, ah, ah, what an unbelievable opportunity I let pass up,” Holloway said. “I want to give credit to my players. They were out all week with the flu. They came out and competed in this hostile environment.”
The Pirates need one win in their last two Big East games to clinch a first-round finish in the Big East tournament.
The story for Seton Hall this season has been defense. Seton Hall ranks first in the Big East in points allowed (64.7). They are seventh nationally in blocks per game (5.9) and eighth in steals (8.6), but offensively they are last in the conference in scoring (70.3).
Seton Hall’s best offensive half of the season came in its first meeting with Xavier. Trailing by 11 points at halftime, the Pirates outscored the Musketeers 56-27 in the second half, finishing with 27 points from Tajuan Simpkins and 24 from Adam “Budd” Clark.
Xavier (14-15, 6-12) ended a three-game losing streak with a 91-84 win over Georgetown on Saturday. Xavier forward Tre Carroll leads the Big East in scoring with 18.6 points.
The Musketeers look to play 8/9 on day one of the Big East tournament.
“I don’t talk about the big picture with our players,” Xavier coach Richard Pitino said Saturday. “I enjoyed the break and then we go back (Sunday) and go to Seton Hall. We started great (against them). We were ready to go to theirs and they put the pressure on us. Seton Hall is a great team. We got two to go and then we got Madison Square Garden. Let’s see if we can go on Tuesday.”
–Field level media
