Storrs — A frustrated Ryan Boatright is sick of losing. And he plans on doing something about it.

Boatright, a senior captain, vowed on Wednesday that he's going to lift UConn out of its funk, starting with tonight's American Athletic Conference game against Central Florida at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion.

"Just trying to get back on the winning side of things," said Boatright after practice. "Quite frankly, I'm fed up with losing. I'm going to come out and set the tone. It's going to be a good game."

UConn is in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position. The Huskies (9-7, 2-2) reside in seventh place, just one spot ahead of the Knights (9-8, 2-4).

There's a sense of urgency. Coach Kevin Ollie pointed out that UConn has only 14 regular season games left.

"We've got to start (winning) right now, if we want to be happy on Selection Sunday," Ollie said. "Those guys have dreams and goals. Last year, we got in there and then you see what happens. ... It's a new season and new life.

"We have to understand that we've got to take care of today and not worry about that, because if we keep letting games slip, we're not going to the NCAA tournament. If we keep letting the small things slip, we're not going to the NCAA tournament."

A failure to do some of the small things contributed to UConn's demise at Stanford on Saturday. The Huskies played soft under the basket, allowing the Cardinal to dominate the boards by a 48-24 margin.

Ollie was bothered by his team's lack of toughness. There was too much standing around and watching.

"It's not X's and O's," Ollie said. "It's hitting somebody. I showed them the tape. We can't look up in the sky, thinking the ball is going to come to us. You've got to go find your man and you've got to hit and you've got to be physical.

"So the only thing I'm demanding is effort and physicality. I've got to play the guys that are giving me that, no matter who they are. ... I've got to play the guys that are going out and play hard for UConn."

The next two games should tell a lot about the direction the Huskies are heading in. They host two teams below them in the AAC standings in Central Florida and South Florida (7-11, 1-2), which visits Sunday. They just finished a difficult stretch that featured four of five games on the road, going 3-2.

Like the Huskies, the Knights rely heavily on inexperienced players. Freshmen guards B.J. Taylor and Adonys Henriquez are the team's leading scorers. No first-year player in the AAC averages more points than Taylor's 14.9 per game.

Central Florida prefers an uptempo game, but often is too loose on the defensive end. The Knights rank first in scoring offense (70.2) and last in scoring defense (73.4) in the conference.

Sounds like the perfect game for Boatright to bust out of his personal slump. He's struggling to fight through constant defensive pressure, scoring just 15 points on 6-for-22 shooting in the last two games. The Huskies are 0-4 this season when he fails to hit double figures.

"I've got to figure out a way to insert myself back in the game," Boatright said. "I'm used to scoring 15 plus. We've been losing games by six or seven. That's the area I know I can make up."

It will take more than one win to vault defending national champion UConn back into the NCAA tournament conversation.

Boatright didn't like what he heard about the Huskies while watching television on Tuesday.

"I've never been in the talk of last four out and last four in...," Boatright said. "Seeing our name on there, something just burned inside of me. I didn't like it, man. It's frustrating, so I'm putting it on my shoulders to get this turned back on the winning side of things."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe

Central Florida at UConn

Location: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs

Tip-off: 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Records: UConn 9-7, 2-2; Central Florida 9-8, 2-4

Last game: UCF lost at Memphis, 99-79, Saturday; UConn lost at Stanford, 72-59, Saturday

Probable starters: UConn, 6-0 sr. guard Ryan Boatright (15.7 pts, 4.5 rebs, 4.6 assists), r-s so. Rodney Purvis (9.6 pts), 6-7 fr. forward Daniel Hamilton (10.3 pts, 5.9 rebs), 6-9 so. forward Kentan Facey (5.9 pts, 6.4 rebs), 7-0 so. center Amida Brimah (10.8 pts, 5.1 rebs, 2.5 blks)

Central Florida, 6-0 so. guard Brandon Goodwin (10.5 pts), 6-2 fr. guard B.J. Taylor (14.9 pts), 6-6 fr. guard Adonys Henriquez (11.5 pts, 3.5 rebs), 6-7 sr. forward Kasey Wilson (6.7 pts, 4.5 rebs), 6-10 so. center Justin McBride (7.1 pts, 4.5 rebs)

Noteworthy: Coming off a winless two-game road trip. … Huskies at Gampel for first time since Dec. 5 against Yale. Own 1-2 record in Storrs. … Series: UConn leads 5-1, sweeping last season, 84-61 in Storrs, 75-55 on road. … Knights have lost four of six. … Taylor an AAC rookie-of-the-year candidate. Named rookie of week three times. ... UCF first in AAC in 3-pt percentage (38.1) but last in rebounding (-3.2) and turnover (-2.5) margin. ... Top reserve: 6-2 jr. guard Daiquan Walker (7.7 pts). ... Hot: Brimah shooting 15-for-21 in last four games. Cold: UConn reserve Phil Nolan has more fouls (32) than pts and rebs combined (31). … Sluggish UConn averaging 59.2 points in last four games. ... Up next: UConn hosts South Florida Sunday in Hartford.

— Gavin Keefe