Every opposing team's defensive game plan focuses on one important task.

Bottle up Boatright.

Cincinnati made harassing UConn senior Ryan Boatright its mission in Thursday's American Athletic Conference game.

The Bearcats smothered Boatright, double-teaming the point guard at times, leaving little room to shoot or find a teammate for a basket.

Boatright eventually broke free, scoring 20 of his 22 points in the final 13-plus minutes, but the Huskies already were well on their way to a damaging 12-point road defeat. Their hopes to qualify for the NCAA tournament are reduced to winning the conference tournament in March.

Expect Houston (8-12, 0-8) to take the same approach in today's game at Hofheinz Pavilion (3 p.m., CBS Sports Network). Boatright and the Huskies (11-8, 4-3) have to regroup and gain some momentum in the final 11 regular season games.

"I've got to stay mentally strong and we've got to stay together as a team," Boatright said Thursday.

Boatright, the AAC's leading scorer at 16.8 per game, fuels UConn's attack. The Huskies sputter when Boatright struggles.

During his postgame press conference, Cincinnati coach Larry Davis talked about the importance of containing Boatright, who had just two assists and made four turnovers. Boatright had eight assists to go with 18 points while leading UConn to a six-point win in the first meeting.

"One of the biggest stats on the stat sheet was that Boatright had two assists, which means we kept him out of the lane for a good portion of the game," Davis said. "When he gets his points and assists, he gets points for guys who normally struggle to score."

Boatright has had some of his lowest assist totals in losses this season, averaging 3.6 in those eight games. He's averaging 5.1 in victories.

Part of his growth as a player is that he's learned to make teammates better and knows when to take over a game, even in the face of constant pressure. The trouble is, his supporting cast has been wildly inconsistent, especially in taking care of the basketball, making it easier to derail UConn by containing Boatright. Guards Rodney Purvis, Omar Calhoun and Terrence Samuel each have more turnovers than assists this season.

Last season the Huskies had other offensive sources to tap into when star guard and playmaker Shabazz Napier drew extra defensive heat.

Not this season.

"You definitely need a consistent guy stepping up, giving us those points," coach Kevin Ollie said. "You need a second guy, a third guy, a fourth guy and a fifth guy. Everybody has got to be on the same page. Everybody has got to be aligned with what we're doing, offensive and defensively. We just weren't aligned together as a group (Thursday) and it showed."

It was a bad sign that they were so badly outplayed in a pivotal game against an NCAA tournament quality team. They fell apart on defense and made 17 turnovers. They lacked the mental and physical toughness, energy and composure to compete at a high level.

"At the end of the day, you've got to hit first," Ollie said. "You've got to establish yourself that you're going to be in it. You're not going to give in and you're just going to play through it. We took too many plays off."

UConn's schedule softens a bit over the next three games, as it plays teams with losing conference records in Houston, East Carolina and Tulane.

"At this point, we're just all upset," freshman Daniel Hamilton said. "We just need to get it together."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe

UCONN at HOUSTON

Location: Hofheinz Pavilion

Tip-off: 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Records: UConn 11-8, 4-3; Houston 8-12, 0-8

Last game: UConn lost at Cincinnati, 70-58, Thursday; Houston defeated Rice, 59-48, Wednesday

Probable starters: UConn, 6-0 sr. guard Ryan Boatright (16.8 pts, 4.1 rebs, 4.5 assists), 6-5 jr. guard Omar Calhoun (6.8 pts), 6-7 fr. forward Daniel Hamilton (10.2 pts, 6.3 rebs), 6-9 so. forward Kentan Facey (5.5 pts, 6.4 rebs), 7-0 so. center Amida Brimah (10.5 pts, 5.1 rebs, 2.8 blks)

Houston, 6-3 jr. guard L.J. Rose (9.3 pts, 5.6 assists), 6-4 jr. guard Jherrod Stiggers (15.3 pts, 3.6 rebs), 6-5 jr. guard LeRon Barnes (5.9 pts, 6.5 rebs), 6-8 jr. forward Devonta Pollard (10.8 pts, 6.1 rebs), 6-10 so. forward Danrad Knowles (11.1 pts, 5.8 rebs)

Noteworthy, UConn reserve Sam Cassell Jr. (out) stress fracture. ... Huskies trying to end two-game road trip on a positive note. … UConn 2-3 in last five, Houston lost eight of nine. Cougars in last place. … Series: UConn leads, 3-1, splitting last season winning 80-43 at home and 75-71 on the road. … Top reserve: jr. guard Eric Weary, Jr. (7.4 pts, 3.6 rebs). … Houston leads AAC in 3-pointers made per game at 8.4. … Coach Kelvin Sampson owns 4-2 coaching record vs. UConn, going 3-1 with Oklahoma and 1-1 with Indiana. … Hot: Huskies shooting 44.6 percent from three in last four games. Cold: Cougars out-scored by an average of 12.3 points in AAC action. … Magic number: UConn is 10-1 when scoring at least 60 points.