No. 5 UConn gets overwhelmed by Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall

Field Level Media|published: Wed 20th December, 21:38 2023

Dec 20, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Kadary Richmond (1) drives to the basket in front of Connecticut Huskies guard Cam Spencer (12) and guard Stephon Castle (5) during the second half at Prudential Center. credits: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Kadary Richmond racked up 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and a career-high eight steals as host Seton Hall toppled No. 5 UConn 75-60 in the rivals' conference opener Wednesday in Newark, N.J.

Dre Davis added 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting to help Seton Hall (8-4, 1-0 Big East) defeat a top-five opponent for the first time since Nov. 16, 2021, against then-No. 4 Michigan.

Richmond went 7-for-7 at the foul line on his way to notching a season-high point total. Al-Amir Dawes scored 11 points, and Jaden Bediako had 10 points and nine rebounds in his Big East debut.

Bediako, a center who transferred from Santa Clara, outrebounded UConn star Donovan Clingan in the first half. The 7-foot-2 Clingan had 14 points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes before missing most of the second half with an apparent foot issue.

Tristen Newton led UConn (10-2, 0-1) with 16 points, and Alex Karaban had nine points and eight boards. Seton Hall outshot UConn 51.8 percent (29-for-56) to 37.9 percent (22-for-58) and outscored the Huskies 18-0 in fastbreak points.

UConn committed 17 turnovers and struggled to shoot all night, making just 4 of 21 from 3-point range.

Despite some shots not falling, UConn still established an early 20-10 lead. It was 22-16 Huskies when Richmond ripped off seven straight points, part of a 9-0 Seton Hall run to take its first lead.

Richmond started the run by collecting an offensive rebound and finishing through a foul. He added a fastbreak basket, then beat Newton on the baseline to make it 23-22 Pirates before Davis scored to polish off the run.

UConn shot just 3-for-9 over the final 9:08 of the half as Seton Hall stretched its lead to 34-29 at intermission.

Davis hit a layup and a jumper a minute apart for Seton Hall's first double-digit lead at 52-42 with 10:55 to play.

The Pirates also benefited from entering the bonus midway through the second half, as UConn racked up seven fouls by the 8:44 mark. Four free throws by Richmond powered an 11-2 run that put Seton Hall ahead 63-48 with five minutes left.

Davis' breakaway dunk with 3:29 to play punctuated the upset in style.

—Field Level Media

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