Can UConn end road blues at Memphis?

Huskies face Tigers without Jalen Adams

UConn could change its road trip travel routine.

Maybe alter its shoot-around time on game day. Even try wearing its lucky socks. One thing the Huskies can't do to try to break out of their road funk is change their roster. They are who they are.

And they'll have even more trouble breaking their winless streak today at Memphis without leading scorer Jalen Adams, who's out for four to six weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee. The Huskies and Tigers tip at 2 p.m. in an American Athletic Conference game the FedExForum.

Before Adams was sidelined, sluggish starts contributed to UConn losing all five road games this season. The Huskies (13-10, 4-6) trailed at the break in four of those games.

Given their inexperience and general lack of toughness, it may be difficult for Huskies to top last season's road win total of two, the fewest since the 2001-02 season when they won one.

So what can UConn do to avoid slow starts?

"We're not a really good team," said coach Dan Hurley after falling behind by 26 by halftime and losing at Temple Wednesday. "If we were a really good team, we would get off to a better start. We're not a really good team.

"We've got some young guys . ... We're not a mature, well-balanced, or a really good basketball team."

There's a chance that UConn will welcome back guard Alterique Gilbert, whose missed the last three games with a left shoulder injury.

The absence of Adams, who averages 17 points, hurts the Huskies offensively and places more pressure on their defense to contain opponents. UConn's supporting cast also will have to help fill the void.

Memphis (13-10, 5-5) has had an up and down season under firstyear coach Penny Hardaway, a former four-time NBA all-star looking to revive his alma mater's program. Since beating Central Florida by 20, the Tigers have lost three straight.

Hardaway is searching for solutions for his team's lack of toughness. "Every other team is just tougher," Hardaway told the Memphis Commercial Appeal after Thursday's 69-64 loss to Cincinnati. "They impose their will on us. They're just tougher."

The Tigers own the highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 82 points per game. But they're prone to defensive lapses, allowing a league worst 77 points. Sound familiar? That basically describes the Huskies, who are the second highest scoring team in the conference at 77.5 points and eighth in scoring defense at 71.0 points.

They're still searching for consistency on the defensive end.

"We're still trying to find that out," junior Christian Vital said. "Hopefully, we can before the season is over." g.keefe@theday.com