Storrs — UConn defines a "kill" as three consecutive stops on the defensive end.

The higher number of kills, the greater the odds the Huskies will win in any given game.

They racked up 11 in a 30-point rout of struggling South Florida on Thursday in Tampa.

It will be difficult to reach that impressive number Sunday against Houston in a key American Athletic Conference game at Gampel Pavilion (1 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

The surging Cougars (20-8, 10-6) have won seven of their last nine. They're the highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 78.6 points per game.

The victor will remain in the AAC's regular-season title race and take an important step toward qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

"They're highly motivated," coach Kevin Ollie said of Houston. "(Coach) Kelvin (Sampson) is doing a great job with his team. They've just got a lot of scorers and a lot of options on the offensive end. So we're going to have to get back on defense and play aggressive and play hard.

"... I think it's a great opportunity for us to come out and get a great win against a great team. But we're going to have to be highly motivated to do that."

Stingy defense is at the foundation of UConn's success this season. The Huskies rank third in the country in field goal percentage defense at 37.4 percent, the program's best mark since the 2006-07 team that limited foes to 37.1.

It starts at the top.

UConn's perimeter players have specialized in smothering the opposition's lethal weapons. Against South Florida, leading scorer Jahmal McMurray was limited to just 10 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

Other recent victims include SMU's Nic Moore (14 points, 6-for-14), Tulsa's James Woodward (four points, 1-for-10) and East Carolina's B.J. Tyson (11 points, 5-for-15), who were all held under their scoring averages.

The Huskies embrace playing disruptive defense, excelling at ball pressure and contesting shots. And it also is valuable to have rim protector Amida Brimah lurking under the basket.

"It's confidence," guard Rodney Purvis said. "Defense is heart. We're all coming together. We've all got heart. We just want to get stops. We don't want to get outplayed by any other guards in the league, so we just try to bring it each and every night."

Neutralizing guard Rob Gray, Jr., is the next challenge.

Gray is the league's top scorer, averaging 17.1 points. He's been on a tear recently, piling up 18.8 points in the last five games.

But he had one of his worst shooting games in the first meeting with UConn, which posted a 69-57 road win on Jan. 17. Gray made just six of 19 shots and finished with 15 points.

"He's a fabulous player," Ollie said. "He can shoot the ball. He's got pretty much the green light coming off the bench, where he's coming in to really shoot and really change the tempo of the game. It's going to (take) a big time defensive effort from our guys to keep him from easy baskets."

Houston is far from a one-man team. Six players score at least six points per game.

This is the kind of game that UConn's inconsistent offense will need to do its part. It was a positive sign that the Huskies hit the 80-point mark — only the third time in AAC action — against South Florida. They shared the basketball, assisting on 21 of 32 field goals while shooting 57.1 percent.

But Houston resides in a far better AAC neighborhood than South Florida.

"We know Houston is a lot different team," freshman Jalen Adams said. "We have to step up."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe

UCONN vs. HOUSTON

Location: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs

Tip: 1 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Records: UConn 20-8, 2-1; Houston 20-8, 10-6

Last game: UConn won at South Florida, 81-51, Thursday; Houston won at Central Florida, 88-61, Wednesday

Probable starters: UConn, 6-2 grad. guard Sterling Gibbs (12.1 pts), 6-3 fr. guard Jalen Adams (7 pts), 6-7 so. forward Daniel Hamilton (11.3 pts, 8.9 rebs, 5.1 assists), 6-7 grad. forward Shonn Miller (13.2 pts, 5.6 rebs), 7-0 jr. center Amida Brimah (6.9 pts, 4.5 rebs, 2.5 blks)

Houston, 6-0 fr. guard Galen Robinson Jr. (7.9 pts, 3.5 assists), 6-5 sr. guard LeRon Barnes (6 pts, 5.6 rebs), 6-5 jr. guard Damyean Dotson (13.6 pts, 6.6 rebs), 6-8 sr. forward Devonta Pollard (13.9 pts, 5.8 rebs), 6-8 jr. forward Bertrand Nkali (1.5 pts, 2.2 rebs)

Noteworthy: Key AAC game between teams in league title race. ... Series: UConn leads, 4-2, splitting last four match-ups. Won last meeting 69-57 on Jan. 17 in Houston. Gibbs had 20 pts and Huskies shot 46.3 percent and held Houston to 33.3 percent. ... Cougars won seven of last nine. Top reserve: 6-2 so. guard Rob Gray Jr. (AAC leading 17.1 pts). ... Houston leads AAC in scoring (78.6 pts.) and 2nd in FG percentage (46.8). ... UConn first in scoring defense (6.17) and FG percentage defense (37.4). ... Huskies 13-2 at home (7-0 at Gampel), Cougars 5-4 on road. ... Hot: Hamilton tops in AAC in FT percentage overall at 86.4. Cold: UConn out-rebounded in 3 of last 4 games. ... Adams with consecutive double figure scoring games for only 2nd time this season. ... RPI watch: UConn 43rd, Houston 87th. ... Huskies won at least 20 games in each of Ollie's four seasons. Cougars won 20 for first time since 2012-13 season. ... Up next: UConn visits SMU Thursday in Dallas

— Gavin Keefe