New York - UConn looked inside to pinpoint the root of its ugly but fiercely competitive defeat on Friday.

Senior Jerome Dyson questioned his team's toughness. So did coach Jim Calhoun.

No. 7 Duke played with more heart and intensity. No. 13 UConn didn't adequately respond, resulting in a 68-59 loss in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship game before a noisy crowd of 13,179 at Madison Square Garden.

The Blue Devils (6-0) sent bodies flying to the boards, resulting in rebounds or loose balls that wound up in their hands. Hard work inside allowed them to grab 25 offensive rebounds and overcome shooting 28.4 percent from the field. They had 15 second-chance points.

That's right, Duke won despite shooting 21-for-74.

"Duke physically handled us ... I thought we had alleviated that problem a little bit," Calhoun said. "The rebounding was the major problem. The last time we gave up 25 offensive rebounds was against Georgetown with Alonzo (Mourning) and (Dikembe) Mutombo who are bigger than Duke was.

"But Duke played with a great deal of heart and toughness."

Actually, Providence grabbed 26 rebounds against UConn last Jan. 31. The Huskies easily won that game, 94-61.

UConn's rebounding deficiencies appeared cured in Wednesday's semifinal win over LSU. Calhoun pointed to a change in technique and sheer effort as a reason for a 49-36 advantage.

It took only one game for the Huskies (4-1) to revert to shoddy form.

For the second time in three games, UConn lost the rebounding battle (Duke held a 56-43 edge). The Huskies were only outrebounded twice in 36 games last season.

If not for a rebounding issue and shaky free throw shooting - UConn converted just 15-of-28 from the foul line - the Huskies may have completed their second-half comeback, cutting a 20-point deficit (58-38) to eight (62-54) with a 16-4 spurt capped off by Kemba Walker's free throw with 52.3 seconds left.

Dyson went 3-for-9 from the line during that stretch, allowing Duke to hold despite making only one field goal in the final 12:21.

"We missed 53 shots and we had 56 rebounds," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "That's a very unusual game."

Frustration gradually set in for UConn, which allowed a 16-6 run to end the first half to trail 37-28 at the break. Calhoun earned a technical foul after Walker was called for an offensive foul late in the first half and Edwards received an intentional foul for a takedown on Lance Thomas.

The Huskies started fast, scoring in transition, but the Blue Devils began to retreat and clog the middle. Dyson (15 points) and Walker (nine points, nine assists) continually used their quickness to drive the lane but often met resistance.

Duke's reserves helped extend the lead in the second half. Big man Brian Zoubek, who, along with Thomas grabbed 11 rebounds, scored off a putback to extend the lead to 43-34. Freshman Andre Dawkins (11 points) sailed down the middle for a foul-inducing layup and hit the free throw for a 58-38 edge with 12:21 remaining.

The Huskies, who shot a season-low 37 percent, never recovered.

All the postgame talk centered around rebounding, especially on the offensive end.

"At times, we stopped them defensively and did a great job but we were not rebounding," Stanley Robinson said.

Help is on the way with 6-foot-11 forward Ater Majok becoming eligible on Dec. 20.

"This is just a lack of being tough," Dyson said. "Ater is going to be a great addition to the team, but we feel like we have enough people right now to get the job done."

Can the Huskies learn toughness?

"It's in you or it's not," Dyson said. "It's nothing that can be taught. You just have to go out there and want it. I feel we didn't really want to get those rebounds tonight. It showed because we got killed."

g.keefe@theday.com