Winning season is within reach for Huskies
CENTRAL FLORIDA AT UCONN 7 p.m. XL Center, ESPNU
Hartford — UConn can accomplish something tonight it failed to do in the previous three seasons.
With a win over Central Florida, the Huskies (15-12) will avoid another losing season. They'll finish no worse than .500 overall.
It also would represent another positive step in the rebuilding process for coach Dan Hurley, who's in his second season, and be meaningful to the veteran players who've seen their share of misery during their careers.
The American Athletic Conference game (7 p.m., ESPNU) also is the last regular season game of senior Christian Vital's career at the XL Center.
"There's a lot on the line for us to play for right now," said Hurley after Tuesday's workout in Hartford. "And the guys know it."
Of course, their goal is to do more than just win one more game down the stretch.
The Huskies (15-12, 6-8), who've won four of their last six games, want to finish strong in the last four regular season games. They also can improve their seeding position in the upcoming AAC tournament.
They reside in seventh place, while the Knights (14-12, 5-9) are in ninth.
UCF is one of two teams that UConn hasn't beaten in Hurley's two seasons in Storrs. Houston, which visits on March 5, is the other.
The Knights are riding a threegame winning streak in the series. But they've not the same team as last season. Four starters and three reserves are gone from an NCAA tournament qualifier.
After enduring a brutal mid-season stretch, losing eight of 10, UCF has found solid footing. The Knights are 3-2 in their five games, knocking off two of the top AAC teams in Cincinnati and Tulsa.
Hurley called UCF redshirt junior forward Collin Smith "one of the best big guys in the conference."
"They're kind of in the same neighborhood, record-wise, where we are," Hurley said. "At this time of year, you're trying to obviously win as many games as you can. But also if we hope to have an opportunity in the conference tournament, the more games you win, the better your bracket will be in terms of opponents.
"Last year, we played Houston in game two. That was rough."
UConn is still learning to adjust to life without starter Akok Akok, who suffered a season-ending injury against Memphis on Feb. 16. The loss has left the Huskies thin in the frontcourt and forced Hurley to sometimes play four guards with either forward Isaiah Whaley or center Josh Carlton. The results have been mixed. The Huskies have been a little bit better offensively, mostly due to the growth of freshmen James Bouknight who's averaging 19.2 points in the last five games.
"He's got a ways to go before he can get to where we imagine he'll be for us," Hurley said. "But he's obviously been really good."
Whaley, freshman Jalen Gaffney and sophomore Brendan Adams also are taking advantage of their increased roles.
But the Huskies are weaker on the defensive end.
"I don't think Akok's absence has helped us so much offensively as it has really hurt us defensively," Hurley said. "We've been brutal guarding the ball individually. We're getting driven way too much. Our one-on-one individual defense has got to get a lot better because we don't have that same guy that can erase mistakes along with Isaiah."
Fortunately for the Huskies, the Knights also play a small lineup at times. Defending the perimeter will be a priority, according to Hurley, as well as defending Smith with numbers inside.
Hurley said the Huskies could use a contribution from reserve forward Sid Wilson, who's been ineffective in recent weeks. g.keefe@theday.com