Connecticut @ South Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Connecticut 80, South Florida 73

Connecticut hopes to continue its dominance in the series and right the ship after a poor performance in the American Athletic Conference opener when the Huskies visit South Florida on Saturday afternoon for another league matchup. UConn scored just 19 points in the first half and shot 32.1 percent from the field overall in a 67-51 loss at Cincinnati on New Year’s Day and coach Dan Hurley said there could be changes coming.

“We need the older players to be much better if we’re going to win any games in this conference this year, especially on the road,” Hurley told the Hartford Courant. “With this group moving forward, the leash is going to be a lot shorter. There were a lot of things I didn’t like across the board, and it gets you thinking that you need to shake things up a little bit. … so everything’s in play.” The Huskies are in a good spot to get things moving forward again as they own 12 wins in the last 13 meetings with the Bulls after taking the final two games last season following an earlier 76-68 setback in Tampa. USF has dropped three of four after allowing host SMU to shoot 57.9 percent from the floor in an 82-64 loss to open the AAC season on Wednesday. Bulls leading scorer David Collins (14.5) returned against SMU after missing a game due to a minor injury, but the junior guard was held to seven points in 29 minutes on 2-of-9 from the field.

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT CONNECTICUT (9-4, 0-1 AAC): The starters made just 10 of their 34 shots from the field against Cincinnati and 6-11 junior center Josh Carlton (10.2 points, team-high 7.2 rebounds) continued his struggles, going 1-for-6 to make him 7-for-22 since scoring 18 at Indiana. “Josh is in a funk and it’s my job to get him out of it,” Hurley told reporters. “And it’s his job to battle and compete and pull himself out of it.” Senior guard Christian Vital leads the team in scoring (13.8) and steals (2.7) while junior guard Alterique Gilbert (9.5 points, team-high 4.5 assists) and freshman guard James Bouknight (9.4 points) also contribute.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA (7-7, 0-1): Senior guard Laquincy Rideau led the way for the Bulls at SMU with 14 points and is second behind Collins at 12.9 per game to go along with team highs of 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals. USF will need more production throughout the lineup and sophomore guard Xavier Castaneda is beginning to step up, averaging nine points the past four games, while Oklahoma State transfer Ezacuras Dawson III scored 18 in the win over Florida Atlantic on Sunday. Junior forward Justin Brown is third on the team in scoring (8.1) and leads the way in made 3-pointers (24), but was 1-for-5 on Wednesday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. South Florida’s 7-0 sophomore C Michael Durr leads the team in rebounds (6.4) and has at least seven in three straight games.

2. UConn freshman F Akok Akok is among the national leaders at 3.2 blocks per game after swatting nine in his last two games.

3. The Bulls are shooting a league-worst 59.5 percent from the free-throw line after making 6-of-11 on Wednesday.

PREDICTION: Connecticut 72, South Florida 66