Post-game breakdown: Tulsa
UConn suffered a major letdown against Tulsa on Tuesday night.
Almost nothing went right for the Huskies, who were simply out-played and out-worked for the first time in recent weeks.
The result was an ugly 66-58 road loss.
UConn fell to 9-6 overall, 2-2 in American Athletic Conference play.
The Huskies didn't suffer their sixth loss last season until Feb. 23
Here's a post-game breakdown:
-- It's hard to find many bright spots.
The Huskies did cut a 16-point deficit to seven with about two minutes left, but it's only because they finally started to play with a sense of urgency.
-- Freshman Daniel Hamilton broke out of his scoring funk, contributing a career-high 16 points and a team-best 12 rebounds.
Terrence Samuel added a career-high 12 points. Fellow sophomore Amida Brimah had 11 points and battled foul trouble. He wasn't his usual intimidating presence inside, blocking just one shot in 27 minutes.
-- Free throw shooting continues to be a big issue, as Uconn went an icy 8-for-18. Samuel (4-4) was the only player on target.
The Huskies are shooting an icy 49.3 percent from the line in four league games. That's a sure recipe for failure.
-- UConn had held its previous three opponents to a combined 32 percent from the field in the second half. Tulsa shot 50 percent after intermission.
-- Sluggish starts have hurt the Huskies this season. They fell into a 30-26 halftime hole. They're now 3-6 when trailing at the break.
-- The starting backcourt of Ryan Boatright and Rodney Purvis combined for just 15 points on 6-for-16 from the field. Boatright (3-for-10, 8 points) still hasn't fully recovered from a deep thigh bruise.
-- While Tulsa leading scorer Shaquille Harrison had an off-night, backcourt partner James Woodard picked up the slack, scoring a game-high 21 points.
-- Turnovers helped fuel Tulsa's attack. UConn's 15 turnovers led to 20 points.
-- Other than Samuel, UConn received little help from its bench. Junior Omar Calhoun, who had scored in double figures in three of the last five games, had three points on 1-for-4 shooting.
-- A sputtering offense has contributed to UConn's struggles. The Huskies are averaging 57.8 points and sinking 43.5 percent from the field in league play.
League scoring averages of the starting five: Brimah (10.0), Hamilton (9.8), Boatright (9.5), Purvis (7.5) and Kentan Facey (4.8).
-- Right now, Tulsa (11-5, 4-0) is the team to beat in the AAC.
-- The Huskies leave Oklahoma today for California where they'll prepare for Saturday's game at Stanford (11-4). It is their last chance to score a resume-building non-conference win.
Former UConn standout Shabazz Napier will be in the area. Miami is playing at Golden State tonight.
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