Heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season, the expectations were quite low for Seton Hall men’s basketball. Following the worst season in program history the year prior, the Pirates were picked to finish dead last in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll and were nowhere to be found in most preseason rankings, including the AP Preseason / Week 1 Poll.
But all of that was coming from the outside—head coach Shaheen Holloway, whose teams are often overlooked in the preseason, knew what this year’s roster was capable of.
“I couldn't care less about what others think,” Holloway said at the BIG EAST’s media day on Oct. 22. “I know who I got when it's gametime.”
Fast forward to Week 9 and Holloway’s squad has exceeded such expectations—and by a long shot. The Pirates currently stand 13-2 (with two Quad 1, 2 and 3 wins), are 3-1 in conference play and have received votes in the latest AP Poll for a fifth straight week of polling.
On Monday, The Hall received 31 votes in the Week 9 AP Poll, putting them just two spots outside the top 25 as effectively the 27th-best team in the nation. Taken from an aggregate of over 50 voters, those who included SHU in their ballot had them within the 25-to-22 range, with one voter (Dave Borges of Hearst Connecticut Media) even having the Pirates as high as 20.
The Hall is one of three BIG EAST teams to receive votes in the latest poll, all of which are coached by SHU men’s basketball products. One spot ahead of the Pirates as the 26th-best team is conference rival Villanova (12-2, 3-0 BIG EAST), who are coached by Kevin Willard. Prior to Villanova and his short tenure with Maryland, Willard was SHU’s head coach for 12 seasons before Holloway (his former assistant) took the helm in 2022. In his return to Prudential Center on Dec. 23, Willard’s Wildcats handed the Pirates their second loss of the season, as The Hall’s offense struggled to score against them.
Both the Pirates and Wildcats trail UConn (14-0, 4-0 BIG EAST), who have been in the poll’s top five since its first week. They are coached by Dan Hurley, a New Jersey native who played for the Pirates from 1991 to 1996.
The Hall will host Hurley and the No. 4 Huskies on Jan 13 with a chance to beat them at home for the fifth season in a row—a Quad 1 win that would almost guarantee SHU’s inclusion in the top 25. In last year’s edition of the game, the 6-18 Pirates upset the defending national champions in overtime, thanks to late-game heroics from former Pirate forward Scotty Middleton.
Since Week 5, the number of votes the Pirates have received in the AP Poll has only increased. After their 2-1 record in the Maui Invitational, which included a huge Quad 1 win over the then-No. 23 North Carolina State Wolfpack, SHU first received just six votes. That number jumped to 31 in Week 6, then to 46 in Week 7, after they picked up another Quad 1 win over Kansas State on the road, then over Rutgers University in the Garden State Hardwood Classic at home.
Following their 72-67 road win over Providence to open conference play, SHU then earned their most votes of the season in Week 8 with 49. Although that number decreased back to 31 in the latest poll, the Pirates retain their position as effectively the 27th-best team in the nation.
The Pirates’ most recent votes come following back-to-back thrilling double-digit comeback wins for them, the first being on the road against Marquette. Trailing by as much as 10 points in the second half, the Pirates found themselves down by just six points with under three minutes left. They then went on a 13-1 run in the closing minutes of the game to earn a six-point lead themselves, as they defeated the Golden Eagles 79-73. Their run was highlighted by a lead-taking, left-handed fastbreak layup by junior guard Tajuan Simpkins, who stole the ball off a Marquette pass to the corner then went coast-to-coast to give SHU a 74-75 lead with just over a minute left.
The second was an even more impressive comeback, which came just a day before the poll was released. Hosting Creighton at the Prudential Center on Sunday, the Pirates rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit thanks to their defensive pressure and timely scoring. Down one with 10 seconds left and having just gained possession through back-to-back forced jump balls, freshman forward Najai Hines cleaned up a missed elbow jumper by junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark to score a putback layup, plus the foul, with just one second remaining to give SHU a 55-54 lead. After Hines made the free throw, the Pirates thwarted the Bluejays final possession to secure its 13th win of the season, as they won 56-54.
As has been true for many of the teams that Holloway has coached, its clear that this year's SHU squad thrives when counted out—whether that be in preseason polls or even late-game scenarios.
The Pirates could improve their chances to be included in next week’s top 25 with a Quad 2 win on Saturday, as they travel to Washington, D.C. to face the Georgetown Hoyas (9-5, 1-2 BIG EAST). As mentioned, the Pirates will then play host to the No. 4 Huskies on Jan. 13, with the potential to earn their biggest win over an AP top-five ranked opponent since Nov 16., 2021 when they beat the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
