They've faced a dump truckload of adversity this season.

They've dealt with devastating season-ending injuries and a short-handed roster, contributing to a rough start rarely experienced by the UConn men's basketball program.

Through it all, the Huskies preserved and eventually developed into a mentally-tough team that believes anything is possible, including fighting back from a 17-point deficit as they did in Thursday's 65-62 win over Memphis.

Surging UConn (13-12, 8-5), winners of six of its last seven to move into the fourth place in the American Athletic Conference, take its show on the road, facing Temple on Sunday at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia (4 p.m., ESPN).

"It has grown a lot," coach Kevin Ollie said of his team. "We've been through a lot of experiences together. Everybody has been chronicling those experiences where it's been a little negative, some ups and downs with some injuries.

"But these guys have got a resume now. When they pull out their resume, they understand the experiences that they've been through and when an enemy attacks, we've got to get even tighter. I thought earlier in the season when the enemy attacked we kind of got away from each other. Now we're connected because of our experiences.

"I just believe experiences give you hope. We're playing with a lot of hope now."

Their confidence is soaring, too, and lifted by the fact that they own a winning record for first time this season.

"It's a great feeling to be able to bounce back from the rough start that we had and for us to have some positive momentum moving forward," senior Kentan Facey said.

Maintaining the positive momentum in the final five regular-season games, three of which are against the top three teams in the AAC, will be a challenge.

Temple (14-13, 5-9) is no pushover. The Owls have had an unpredictable season, posting both impressive wins and surprising losses. They've dropped two of the last three, including a 78-64 loss at East Carolina on Wednesday.

The Owls rely heavily on the 3-point shot, avearging a conference-leading 8.9 per game.

"Temple is a great team," Ollie said. "They beat us down there a lot of times. We've got to come in and play physical. They shoot the three great, averaging about nine per game, so we've really got to cut that out."

In the first meeting on Jan. 11, UConn dictated play from the start, jumping out to an 11-point lead at halftime and rolled to a 73-59 win in Storrs. The Huskies frustrated Temple's best player, forward Obi Enechionyia, who had just seven points on 3-for-17 from the field, and limited the Owls to 35.9 percent shooting.

During the series history, the Huskies have struggled on the road against the Owls, winning just once — 68-55 in 2014 — in five tries.

They play two straight games on the road, visiting third-place Houston Wednesday. The Huskies are just 3-6 in away games but won two of their last three.

"Those two games are going to be tough for us," Facey said. "But as long as we come out with the focus and the toughness that we had (Thursday), I feel like we should be in a good place."

g.keefe@theday.com