UConn sure could use something good to happen.

The sooner, the better.

After a promising start to the season, the Huskies have resembled last year's floundering team more than one on the rise. They're 3-4 in their last seven games, losing two straight in humbling fashion.

Folding in the second half at South Florida on Wednesday was a troubling sign.

Coach Dan Hurley announced after Friday's practice that reserve forward Kassoum Yakwe, a graduate transfer just starting to make an impact off the bench, will likely miss the remainder of the season after reinjuring his right foot. His absence weakens an already unproductive frontcourt.

Now American Athletic Conference preseason favorite Central Florida (11-2 1-0), winners of five straight, visits for a noon game Saturday at the XL Center in Hartford.

"We understand the situation we're in," junior Christian Vital said. "We've just got to stick together. Dudes in the locker room, we've just got to quiet the outside noise that surrounds us right now and just stick together. I think we will do that and it will pay dividends for us a team."

The Huskies (9-5, 0-1) have said all the right things, but not backed up their talk.

Hurley says he's had his team's attention but they haven't responded the way he'd like. He's watched them buckle badly in the second half of each of the last two games, with South Florida and Villanova each scoring 51 points after intermission.

When adversity strikes, the Huskies usually cave in.

"There's habits that you have to have as a player," Hurley said. "There's a seriousness, a competitiveness, a focus, a locked in nature for 40 minutes that you have to have during a course of a game.

"If sitting through the video session that we sat through as a group isn't going to light a fire to play with intensity, passion, focus and competitiveness for 40 minutes, then obviously there are deeper, embedded issues that are going to be hard for us to fix in one winter."

UCF has the talent to expose UConn's weaknesses. The Knights feature the AAC preseason player of the year in guard B.J. Taylor and towering center/shot blocking menace Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6 senior. In some ways, their long and athletic frontcourt resembles Florida State's, according to Hurley.

The Knights deliver on both ends of the court, ranking second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (38.5) and first in field goal percentage (48.7). Only two teams have scored more than 65 points against them since Nov. 11.

"They're probably the second best team we've played this year in terms of what they bring to the table," Hurley said. "This is a heck of a challenge after getting embarrassed in the second half the other night, or the last two games."

The Huskies will miss Yakwe, who provided energy, rebounding and a shot-blocking presence off the bench. He had just started to regain his form from his St. John's days when he fractured his right foot during a non-contact drill during Wednesday's game day shoot-around at South Florida.

UConn is still trying to determine whether Yakwe, who's still being evaluated and undergoing tests, will need surgery. He's a long shot to return this season. He appeared in 13 games, averaging 1.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.8 minutes. He averaged two blocks in his last four games.

Yakwe's absence puts more pressure on sophomores Josh Carlton and Isaiah Whaley and senior Eric Cobb to perform. Mamadou Diarra, who's yet to play this season, is still working his way back from off-season knee surgery. Reserve Kwintin Williams remains indefinitely suspended.

"He was an energy guy," sophomore Tyler Polley said of Yakwe. "When he got in the game, he brought a ton of energy and made plays. It hurts but next man up. We've got to step up."

Vital helped convince Yakwe to come to UConn for his graduate year to try to do something special.

"I'm definitely going to play my heart out for him, because that's my boy," Vital said.

g.keefe@theday.com

UCONN vs. CENTRAL FLORIDA

Location: XL Center, Hartford

Tip: noon (ESPNews)

Records: UConn 9-5, 0-1; Central Florida 11-2, 1-0

Last game: UConn lost at South Florida, 76-68, Wednesday; UCF defeated Temple, 78-73, Wednesday

Probable starters: UCF, 6-3 r-jr. guard Terrell Allen (8.6 pts, 4.8 assists), 6-2 r-sr. guard B.J. Taylor (18 pts), 6-6 r-jr. guard Aubrey Dawkins (15.2 pts, 5.8 rebs), 6-11 r-so. forward Collin Smith, 7-6 sr. center Tacko Fall (11.1 pts, 7.2 rebs, 3.3 blks)

UConn, 6-3 sr. guard Jalen Adams (17.2 pts), 6-0 redshirt so. guard Alterique Gilbert (12.4 pts, 4.1 assists), 6-2 jr. guard Christian Vital (12.6 pts, 5 rebs), 6-8 so. forward Tyler Polley (8.3 pts, 2.2 rebs), 6-10 so. forward Josh Carlton (7.2 pts, 4.1 rebs)

Noteworthy: Own four-game losing streak in AAC home openers, 1-4 overall. ... UConn 3-4 in last seven games. Knights won five straight, off to best start since 2010-11. Preseason favorite to win AAC. Only losses at Missouri (64-62 OT), Florida Atlantic (80-79). ... Series: UConn leads, 11-2, winning eight of last nine meetings. Split last season, losing on the road 70-61 on Jan. 31 and winning at home 62-53 on Jan. 10. ... Taylor AAC preseason player of year. ... Top reserve: 6-9 sr. forward Chad Brown (5 pts, 5 rebs). ... UCF's foes shooting 38% from field and scoring 63.8 pts per game, 2nd and 3rd in AAC, respectively. Top 3 pt. shooting team at 37.1 ... Fall first in AAC in FG% (79.7) and blocks (3.3). ... Hot: Vital 17-for-25 from field in last 3 games, averaging 17 pts. Cold: Polley 9-for-27 from field in last 5 games. ... Last two UConn foes each scored 51 pts in second half. ... UCF (48.7%) and UConn (47.1%) top shooting teams in conference and also rank first (5.3 and second (5.4), respectively in blocks per game. ... Knights never won at UConn. ... Huskies forced an average of 20 turnovers in last 5 games, committed 15.2. ... Huskies 49-42 in AAC action in school history. ... Up next: UConn hosts SMU Wednesday night in Storrs.

— Gavin Keefe