New York - In the aftermath of a disheartening performance Friday, sophomore Kemba Walker talked about what he learned about his UConn basketball team over the last two games.

He hit the bull's eye.

"We can be so much better," Walker said.

The Huskies (4-1) left New York without a NIT Tip-Off Championship but took home the consolation prize and the valuable experience of playing two spotlight games at Madison Square Garden.

Inconsistencies plagued the Huskies. One game they looked lethal, beating up on LSU, 81-55, Wednesday, another they looked overwhelmed at times in a 68-59 loss to No. 7 Duke Friday.

"We showed a little bit of good and a little bit of bad in the past few games," senior Gavin Edwards said. "We showed toughness in the first game and then we were kind of lacking in the second game. We had high and low points in both games."

No. 13 UConn will be back in New York to face another powerhouse in No. 5 Kentucky on Dec. 9 in the SEC/Big East Invitational. The Huskies will need to improve in several areas to leave with a positive result.

Rebounding, especially on the offensive end, is an ongoing issue. Opponents are averaging 16.6 offensive rebounds per game compared to 12.9 last season. Another of the program's trademarks, toughness, is lacking. And their free throw percentage dipped to 66 percent after going 15-for-28 Friday.

An overlooked problem is an erratic halfcourt offense.

In the open court, the athletic Huskies are borderline unstoppable. They blitzed the Blue Devils early in the first half. Walker, a turbo-charged point guard, ran a torrid fast break, feeding Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson for an assortment of driving layups and dunks.

But when Duke made an adjustment and retreated on defense, the Huskies bogged down, making only 10-of-30 field goals in the second half to shoot a season-low 37.3 percent. They scored only six of their 18 fast-break points after intermission.

Future opponents will take similar steps to slow up UConn. So execution in the half-court will become vital.

Against Duke, the Huskies were done in by poor decision making, leading to 16 turnovers, and questionable shot selection. Dyson and Walker repeatedly drove a crowded lane in search of points or trips to the foul line.

Walker, who had a season-high six turnovers, is still learning how to run an efficient offense in the halfcourt set.

"We were an awful passing team," coach Jim Calhoun said. "I think we ran at times some offense but didn't get open. … Guys that were open never got the ball. And that's usually been something that we do pretty well."

Calhoun dismissed any concern about his team's perimeter shooting even though the Huskies made only two shots outside of 10 feet the entire game and missed all four 3-point attempts.

"I didn't want them taking threes," Calhoun said. "I thought we had quickness to go by them."

UConn desperately needs a Rashad Anderson-type to force the defense to play the entire court and not just the lane. But no one on the current roster fits that description. Except for Edwards, a reserve playing starter's minutes, there's no reliable relief on the bench.

Despite its problems, UConn doesn't require an overhaul. Defensively, the Huskies are making progress. They limited a potent offensive team in Duke, which came in averaging 87.8 points and shooting 49.8 percent from the field, to season lows in points and field goal percentage (28.4).

Their athleticism will continue to create problems for opponents. The Huskies will automatically be a better team in several areas when forward Ater Majok is eligible Dec. 20.

Home games against Boston University Wednesday and Harvard Sunday, Dec. 6, are two more opportunities for the Huskies to take a step forward.

"We've just got to work harder," Dyson said. "There are definitely things we need to work on as a team. There's still room for improvement."