UConn’s Hurley explains why he ‘wouldn’t want to see Seton Hall’s name drawn next to mine in the NCAA Tournament’

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UConn coach Dan Hurley has won two of the last three NCAA Tournaments and believes he has yet another team capable of cutting down the nets in April in Indianapolis.

Yet there’s one team he wouldn’t want to see in the first round of the Big Dance: his alma mater.

“I wouldn’t want to see Seton Hall’s name drawn next to mine in the NCAA Tournament, I’ll tell you that,” Hurley said after his No. 3 Huskies snapped a four-game losing streak in Newark with a 69-64 win over the No. 25 Pirates.

“That’s an excellent team,” added Hurley, whose own team (17-1, 7-0 Big East) has won 13 straight dating to a Nov. 19 loss to current No. 1 Arizona. “That’s a team that’s going to be right there for the Big East regular season, Big East Tournament. And that’s going to be a tough team to beat in the NCAA Tournament.”

After falling behind yet again in a Big East game and trailing by as many as 18 in the second half, the Pirates closed to within 65-64 on a corner 3-pointer by Mike Williams.

Williams (16 points) had another look to tie the game at 67, but was blocked by Braylon Mullins.

The Hall had no answer for 6-11 big man Tarris Reed Jr., who went for 21 points and 11 boards against the smaller Pirates front line. Karaban added 13 points in his first win at Prudential Center, and Mullins 11.

“I’m just proud we got a Big East win and it’s definitely nice to win here,” Karaban said.

The good news for the Pirates (14-3, 4-2 Big East) is they roared back yet again after getting down early.

The bad news is they missed 10 foul shots (15-of-25) and were a woeful 1-of-16 from deep.

“I don’t know, man,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway lamented. “I mean, here’s the craziest thing. In our new gym, our great, beautiful practice facility, we don’t miss free throws. We don’t miss 3-pointers. We can’t seem to make them [in games], so I don’t know.”

The Hall’s emotional leader, Budd Clark, fouled out with 12 points and 4 rebounds but wasn’t feeling any moral victories after giving the No. 3 team in the nation a serious run for its money.

“We’re not here for moral victories,” Clark said. “We feel like we could beat anybody.”

Still, Holloway knew this was a golden opportunity for a “massive” NCAA Tournament resume and league win that slipped away.

“It’s disappointing because opportunities like this don’t come around too often at home,” he said.

The Hall needs to get some wins during the season against UConn, St. John’s and Villanova, the league’s other three top teams. So far they are 0-2 against Villanova and UConn with a date against St. John’s coming up Tuesday at Madison Square Garden after a home tilt Saturday with Butler.

“Everybody doubts them and they continue to stay together and be the toughest,” UConn’s Karaban said of The Hall. “… They block out the outside noise every single year and it’s always a tough team to play against.”

Holloway appreciated Hurley’s high praise for his team, but said he’s not getting too far ahead of himself.

“I’m just worried about Butler,” he said, “I’m not worried about the NCAA Tournament.”

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