Every day in practice or in film study, Herb Pope and Jordan Theodore are faced with a reality. Usually the instigator is former Seton Hall center Grant Billmeier, now the team’s coordinator of basketball operations. Other times, it’s ex-Pirates guard Shaheen Holloway, now the associate head coach.

Every time the Pirates’ two seniors think they’ve figured everything out, the two advisers who once sat where they sat, played where they’ve played, throw it back in their faces.

They remind them that this group of seniors hasn’t won the big game, hasn’t put their school on the map and, most of all, hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament.

“We hear it,” Theodore said last night. “(Billmeier) says, ‘You think you’re good? I went to two NCAA tournaments.’ He says that all the time, and you know what? There’s no comeback from that.”

Well, not yet, anyway. But it might be coming soon.

Shortly before 9 o'clock last night at the Prudential Center, Seton Hall put the finishing touches on its latest impressive victory, an emphatic 75-63 win over No. 8 Connecticut.

In a season where Seton Hall (13-2, 2-1) keeps turning the improbable on its head, this was the most surprising victory yet. This wasn’t a squeaker over the defending national champions, this was a game where the Pirates led by as many as 21 points with just over 90 seconds left to play.

This was the type of game that can put a team on the map.

“This is a steppingstone,” said Pope, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. “We want to continue to grow and take us from a bottom-of-the-basement in the Big East, to at least put us in the middle of the pack.

“We’re not saying we have to be at the top, but just put us in the pack. We don’t even care if people are talking about us — the longer we go under the radar, the easier it’s going to be for us.”

That’s quickly becoming the motto of Seton Hall’s season.

Holding the eighth-ranked team to 35 percent shooting? That’ll turn some heads. Forcing Connecticut’s usually potent offense into 14 turnovers? That will raise some eyebrows. Sure, UConn (12-2, 2-1) guard Jeremy Lamb had 19 points, but the Pirates were able to limit the damage elsewhere on the floor. With Lamb having to carry the burden by himself, Seton Hall pounced.

As the Pirates’ lead grew — around home-crowd chants of “overrated” aimed at the visitors — Theodore began striking the final blows in the form of three consecutive 3-pointers late in the second half. He led the Pirates with 19 points, and added 11 assists, part of a four-man barrage of double-digits scorers for Seton Hall. Fuquan Edwin had 12 points and 11 rebounds. It seemed everything was coming up Seton Hall.

“The way we’re all playing together, it’s helping,” Edwin said. “With Pope and Jordan leading the team and me playing defense and our freshmen hitting big shots, it’s good.”

Perhaps the biggest ghost vanquished on this night? Seton Hall’s record against the Huskies, who were playing without their head coach, Jim Calhoun, who served the last of a three-game suspension for recruiting violations. Associate head coach George Blaney, a former Seton Hall head coach (1994-97), filled in for Calhoun, who returns to the sideline for UConn’s next game, Saturday at Rutgers.

The Pirates had won only two of the teams’ last 27 meetings and lost the last 11 games. Not since March 3, 2001, had Seton Hall been able to notch a victory in the series. After breaking another epic losing streak last season — against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome — head coach Kevin Willard is still looking ahead.

“I think it’s a great win for my players,” he said. “That’s a heck of a program and their history and the players they have now are tremendous. They’re an excellent basketball team. I’m just really happy for my two seniors who finally got a ‘W’ against them. A lot of hard work and planning.”

That all came to the surface after the final horn sounded. As the team lined up for the alma mater and faced their fans — euphoric with the possibility of a postseason run by the Pirates — no smiles were bigger than those of Pope and Theodore. They still expect to get the pulls back to earth from Billmeier and Holloway, but the time off the map they speak of might be coming to an end.

That comeback the seniors have been searching for? It might be brewing in South Orange.

“We’re beating teams that we haven’t beaten before,” Pope said. “These young guys? They just think UConn is ranked No. 8 in the country. We’ve been losing to these guys for years. It’s personal. ... Me and (Jordan) have never been to the tournament before. When Grant Billmeier throws it in our faces, it hits home. Because he’s right.”

For more college hoops coverage, follow Brendan Prunty on Twitter at twitter.com/BrendanPrunty

Brendan Prunty: bprunty@starledger.com