Hartford – When UConn coach Dan Hurley returned to basketball practice Saturday after missing time while recovering from COVID, he saw a beaten down team.

Losing five out of six games, including a heart-breaking, last-second loss at Seton Hall on Wednesday that Hurley watched from home, took its toll on the Huskies.

“When I got back into practice, they looked like dogs in an animal shelter,” Hurley said. “These guys were beat up. It was a little scary (Saturday) going in there and seeing what the collective group looked like and their energy level.”

Hurley saw a completely different team on Sunday in an 86-56 rout of Butler at the XL Center.

“We needed that badly,” sophomore Jordan Hawkins said. “It’s been a tough stretch but we kept our heads up. We played our hearts out today.”

The 15th Huskies (16-5, 5-5) were in complete control from the start, building a comfortable 22-point halftime lead while on the way to posting their largest margin of victory this season in Big East play.

“It was just good to see us resemble at times the team that we’ve been for a much larger part of the season than for the last couple of weeks,” Hurley said. “The Wednesday game at Seton Hall, I saw a team that fought much harder than it had been fighting and then lost a game because it couldn’t just grab a rebound on a poorly missed 3-point shot.

“The heartbreak of that and some of the suffering that’s gone on the last couple of weeks hopefully will produce more of these types of games from us.”

Junior Adama Sanogo contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds, Hawkins scored 20 points while redshirt freshman Alex Karaban (15) and senior Tristen Newton (11) also hit double figures.

The Huskies played with great energy and effort.

They limited Butler (11-10 3-7) to 37.2 percent from the field.

Their domination on the backboard, winning the rebound battle by a 48-22 margin, stood out for Hurley.

“To go plus 26 just showed that maybe there’s an understanding of how we lost that Seton Hall game…,” Hurley said. “We made a much more conscious effort. When you’re struggling and going through a tough part of your season like every team in the country does, you’ve got to learn from it and grow from it.”

Sunday’s outcome was fairly predictable.

UConn beat Butler by 22 in the first meeting on Dec. 17 in Indianapolis. Residing near the bottom of the Big East standings, the Bulldogs played without leading scorer and rebounder Manny Bates (foot injury) in the rematch.

And the Huskies desperately needed a win to get back on track before hosting No. 8 Xavier on Wednesday in Storrs.

As motivation, Hurley showed his team a video put together by the video staff featuring clips of their recent struggles woven in with Al Pacino’s inspirational speech to his fictional football team in the movie, Any Given Sunday.

“It was really inspirational,” Hawkins said. “I listened to it this morning when I brushed my teeth to remind me that during hard times to keep fighting. One thing that really stood to me is that we can heal as a team or die as individuals. That’s the biggest message, just being together.”

UConn seized control early on Sunday.

The Huskies did everything that they hadn’t been doing during their funk.

They ran a productive offense thanks in part to crisp ball movement, applied a smothering defense, crashed the boards and hustled loose balls.

“It was good to see guys play in a manner that will allow us to play closer to the team that was highly-ranked,” Hurley said.

They also received a spark from their bench.

Reserves Donovan Clingan and Hassan Diarra (eight points) provided a spark to help fuel a 17-3 spurt that turned a five-point lead into a 32-13 advantage with just over four minutes left in the first half.

The momentum turning spurt started with a Hawkins 3-pointer and his pull-up jumper. Clingan muscled inside for two points and then set up Karaban’s inside basket with a nifty pass.

The spurt ended with Sanogo finding Newton for a reverse layup. Meanwhile, Butler started out a dreadful 4 for 21 from the field.

Sanogo sure enjoys playing against Butler. He scored a season high 27 points in the first meeting and dominated again on Sunday.

UConn continued to play hard in the second half. Junior Andre Jackson set the tone by blocking a shot and then diving on the floor for the loose ball.

Hurley finally pulled his starters with a 79-43 lead with about four minutes left in the game.

The Huskies feel much better going forward than they did in previous weeks when Hurley admitted they didn't handle the pressure well of rising to the No. 2 ranking in the country.

“We know we don’t suck,” Hurley said. “We know we’re really good. We know that these next 10 games we’ve got a bunch of people coming to Gampel and that we’ve got a chance to start stacking some wins.

News and notes

Sunday marked the return of sophomore forward Samson Johnson, who made his first appearance since injuring his foot in the season opener. He finished with two points and two rebounds in six and a half minutes of action. “Just seeing the crowd go crazy for him, I was so happy for him,” Karaban said. “I know he's going to help out the team so much.” … Hurley and associate head coach Kimani Young, who also returned after being out with COVID, wore masks during the game. “Great to be back,” Hurley said. “Just missed being out there with the boys.” … Graduate transfer Joey Calcaterra, who started his playing career at the University of San Diego, scored his 1,000 career point and finished with five. … This weekend, NCAA’s annual tour with the national championship trophy stopped by Storrs. “It’s an honor because that doesn't get sent to everybody,” Hawkins said.

g.keefe@theday.com