Even though they blew out the Central Florida Knights earlier in the season, this was not a game that the UConn Huskies men's basketball team could take lightly. It's the final month of the season and every game counts.

And with some of the teams in the new conference not having a strong RPI, a loss could devastating to a team with NCAA aspirations.

While they were challenged on Sunday night, UConn held off a strong charge from UCF in a 75-55 win at CFE Arena in Orlando, FL.

The Huskies improve to 18-5 (6-4 American) while UCF falls to 9-12 (1-9).

Lasan Kromah and Shabazz Napier led the way for UConn with 17 points and seven rebounds. Napier also added six assists. DeAndre Daniels returned to the lineup after missing time with back spasms and added 16 points and seven rebounds.

Ryan Boatright chipped in with 11 points while Phillip Nolan hit all five of his shots for 10 points.

Isaiah Sykes paced Knights with 17 points and five assists. Justin McBride came off the bench to score 13 points while Kasey Wilson had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Behind the strength of two runs, a 9-0 and 10-0 run, UConn built up a big lead in the first half. However in the second half, UCF tried to make it a game.

With the Huskies leading by 18 points, McBride put the team on his big frame and helped cut the lead to eight points. But Napier picked Brandon Goodwin's pocket twice to score four points, two on a layup and two on free throws, and the Knights never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Good road win for UConn. When they faced adversity, they were able to pull together. They'll need to continue to do that going forward.

The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday night when they'll host the South Florida Bulls at the XL Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ Central Florida Knights 2/9/14 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Kevin Ollie and UCF coach Donnie Jones.

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photo credit: david manning – usa today sports

For about 34 minutes, the UConn Huskies men's basketball team was in control and looked to be on their way to upsetting the Cincinnati Bearcats. Unfortnuately though for them, Cincy's Sean Kilpatrick wasn't going to let hat happen.

Kilpatrick's three pointer with 5:21 to go put the Bearcats in the lead for good as they withstood multiple challenges from UConn in a 63-58 win at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH on Thursday night.

The No. 22 Huskies fall to 17-5 (5-4 American) while No. 7 Cincinnati improves to 22-2 (11-0).

Shabazz Napier led UConn with 16 points and three assists. Lasan Kromah had 13 points while Niels Giffey had 10 points. Amida Brimah, Ryan Boatright (nine points) and Giffey all led the Huskies with four rebounds each.

Kilpatrick paced the Bearcats with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds along with six assists. Justin Jackson added 15 points and six rebounds.

UConn is back in action on Sunday night when they travel to Orlando, FL to take on the UCF Knights. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ Cincinnati Bearcats 2/6/14 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from Irish mobster Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin and UConn head coach Kevin Ollie.

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photo credit: brad horrigan – hartford courant

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team had never faced the SMU Mustangs before Tuesday night's game. The Mustangs had never faced a No. 1 team before in their history.

The UConn women showed the Mustangs, who were averaging around 70 points a game, what it's like to play the No. 1 team.

Bria Hartley led five players in double figures to help UConn to an easy 102-41 win over SMU in front of 7,839 at Gampel Pavilion.

It's the 30th straight win for the Huskies who improve to 24-0 (11-0 American). The Mustangs fall to 14-8 (5-6).

Hartley paced the Huskies with 21 points while Breanna Stewart had 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Both Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had double-doubles of 16 points and 11 rebounds. KML added a game-high seven assists while Dolson had a game-high five blocked shots.

Moriah Jefferson rounded out the Huskies in double digits with 14 points and had five rebounds with five assists.

The American's leading scorer, Keena Mays, hit her average of 20 points to lead SMU. Akil Simpson, Kiara Perry and Korina Baker all had five points. Perry led the Mustangs with seven rebounds.

The Huskies mushed past the Mustangs out of the starting gate with a 19-0 run over the first five and half minutes of the game to seize complete control. The lead was 35 by halftime and continued to grow from there.

The one concerning thing to me right now is the depth with the injuries.

Hartley picked up two early fouls and went to the bench. With Brianna Banks out after re-spraining her ankle, the only backcourt person was Saniya Chong, who's had an up-and-down freshman campaign.

Chong didn't play too badly scoring seven point and made some smart decisions while leading the offense.

But what happens if they're shorthanded and get in some serious foul trouble. They need to play a little smarter.

There's always a time when a player commits a stupid foul. The first one Hartley had was dumb. In a tighter game, that could have cost her team.

We'll see how "smart" they play their next time out.

The UConn women are back in action on Sunday when they'll "Pink Out" Gampel as the last undefeated team in conference play, besides themselves, in the Louisville Cardinals. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.

SMU Mustangs @ UConn Huskies 2/4/14 box score

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

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photo credit: richard messina – hartford courant

When Breanna Stewart gets on a roll making shots, you might as well sit back and enjoy the show.

And it was quite the performance she put on in head coach Geno Auriemma's backyard.

Behind Stewart's career-high 37 points, the UConn Huskies women's basketball team beat the Temple Owls 93-56 in front of 2,030 at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday night.

The crowd of 2,030 at McGonigle Hall was a Temple women's basketball record and if I had to guess, I'd say most of them were Auriemma's relatives (kidding).

UConn improves to 22-0 (9-0 American) while Temple falls to 10-10 (4-5).

Stewart got her 37 points on 15-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. She also had five rebounds, two assist and two steals.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 18 points and six rebounds. Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson both had double-doubles for the Huskies. Hartley had 16 points and 11 assists while Dolson had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Moriah Jefferson led the Huskies with 12 assists while Kiah Stokes had four blocked shots.

Rateska Brown was only member of the Owls to hit double figures with 13 points. Shi-Heria Shipp had nine points while Taylor Robinson had eight points. Natasha Thames had seven points and a team-high six rebounds.

With the score tied 4-4 two minutes into the game, the Huskies went on a 14-0 run over the next two plus minutes to open a lead. However after the first media timeout, things started to a little south for the Huskies.

Temple went on a 19-4 run of their own to take a 23-22 lead on a Robinson layup with just under eight minutes to go. The Owls would stay close for the next few minutes but UConn closed out the half on a 22-6 run to enjoy 49-37 lead at the break.

It was all Huskies in the second half as former assistant coach Tonya Cardoza's Temple squad  never mounted a challenge.

When Stewart's on, it is fun to watch. It's not like they were feeding her the ball either. Her 37 points came in the flow of UConn's offense and that's what you want to see.

Had they not, I'm sure Auriemma would have let her/them know.

The Huskies are off until Saturday when they'll face another former assistant and player in Jamelle Elliott's Cincinnati Bearcats squad in the Queen City. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ Temple Owls 1/28/14 box score

Here is UConn head coach Geno Auriemma's press conference video.

Here is Temple head coach Tonya Cardoza's press conference video.

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photo credit: howard smith- usa today sports

No one is ever going to feel sorry for Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies women's basketball team when they have to play shorthanded. With Morgan Tuck, Brianna Banks and Saniya Chong missing the game, UConn was once again down to six scholarship players.

And like earlier in the season, it really didn't matter.

Breanna Stewart tied her career-high with 29 points and had seven rebounds as UConn went on to rout the South Florida Bulls 81-53 in front of the largest crowd this season, 13,207, at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies improve to 21-0 (8-0 American) while the Bulls fall to 10-9 (5-3).

Bria Hartley's hot streak continued as she had 26 points and six assists. Moriah Jefferson had a nice game with 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals along with Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis who had eight points, five rebounds and six assists.

Courtney Williams was the only member of the Bulls to hit double figures as she had  23 points and tied Alisia Jenkins with a team-high eight rebounds. Jenkins also had six points and five assists while Akila McDonald had nine points.

Based on the final score, you wouldn't have thought that USF would hold a 13-11 lead with 13:23 to go in the first half. A Stewart three would give the Huskies the lead for good at 14-13 but the Bulls would stick around for the next few minutes.

Then an 8-0 run by UConn increased the lead to 10 at 30-20. The Huskies would outscore the Bulls 15-7 to enjoy an 18 point lead at the half.

USF never challenged UConn in the second half and it was on the to the 27th straight win for the Huskies.

Hopefully the Huskies will get Banks and Chong back for their next game. This will allow Auriemma to get some rest for his players as all five starters played at 33 minutes in a blowout win. In years past, they'd be out with 10 minutes to go.

But it's a long season and there's a reason why Auriemma is one of the greatest coaches around. So in reality, no sense to worry.

It's quick turnaround though for the Huskies as they head to Auriemma's stomping grounds for a matchup against former assistant Tanya Cardoza and the Temple Owls on Tuesday night. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

South Florida Bulls @ UConn Huskies 1/26/14 box score

Here are UConn's postgame quotes.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

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photo credit: rick hartford – hartford courant

Like their basketball sisters, the UConn Huskies men's basketball team made their final visit to the RAC. And like their sisters, they came out with a win.

After a slow start, Shabazz Napier scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half to help UConn to an 82-71 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in front of 8,006 on Saturday night.

The Huskies improve to 16-4 (4-3 American) while the Scarlet Knights fall to 8-12 (2-5).

Ryan Boatright returned to the Huskies and had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists after missing the last game for his cousins funeral. Amida Brimah had all of his 10 points in the first half and finished with eight rebounds while Niels Giffey had nine points all on three-pointers.

DeAndre Daniels up and down play continued but this time it wasn't his fault. He suffered a sprained ankle in the first half but was able to return in the second half.

Kadeem Jack and Jerome Seagears both led with Rutgers with 19 points. Jack scored 11 of his points at the charity stripe while Seagears had eight there. Jack also ended up with a double-double as he had 11 rebounds. Junior Etou had 10 points.

UConn broke open a tight game early on with 9-0 run to take a 10 point lead. Rutgers would battle back though and make it a two-point game to force the Huskies into a timeout with 7:30 remaining in the half.

The Huskies pushed the lead back to 10 points but Rutgers would score the final five points of the half to make it 41-36 for the visitors.

The Scarlet Knights opened up the second half with two straight three-pointers to take the lead. A Boatright layup with 16:10 would UConn up for good but it stayed close for most of the second half. An old fashioned three point play by Napier with just over six minutes to go put the Huskies up eight and they never looked back.

Nice road win for the Huskies. It might not have been pretty but considering everything, it's a win.

The Huskies will look to redeem themselves on Thursday night when they'll host the Houston Cougars at Gampel Pavilion. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m.

UConn Huskies @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1/25/14 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from Rutgers and UConn. (at bottom)

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photo credit: brad horrigan – hartford courant