UConn's last game was Jan. 9 against Providence, an 87-50 victory but one in which not everything went particularly smoothly. Normally, those transgressions would have been addressed by now.

"You know, look, in a normal year, you play 2-3 times a week on a regular basis; it's predictable," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said in a conference call Monday. "You would know right away. So after the Providence game we would have had another game two days later, three days later and we would have known what the effect was.

"And after that game we would have had another game. And none of that happened."

Third-ranked UConn, which had its last two games postponed due to issues with COVID-19 throughout the Big East Conference, finally makes its return Tuesday with a scheduled 6:30 p.m. start vs. league opponent Butler at Gampel Pavilion (SNY).

So how are things going for the unbeaten Huskies (7-0, 6-0) 10 days later?

Against Providence, Auriemma started freshman Aaliyah Edwards over sophomore Anna Makurat, then removed four of the starting five within the first five and a half minutes of the first quarter, looking for a pulse with UConn still trailing 7-3. Junior Christyn Williams played just 14 minutes in the game and didn't attempt a shot, with the coach complaining about the general inconsistency being raised by the pandemic.

Auriemma said you can't go by whether things are fixed in practice or not. The determination will have to be made when the Huskies hit the floor Tuesday and by their three games overall this week, as the schedule continues Thursday at No. 25 Tennessee and Saturday at home against Georgetown.

"You can't go by, 'Yeah, our practices have been really good,'" Auriemma said. "Our practices were really good leading up to the Providence game. We brought nothing to that game the first five, six, seven minutes of that game. Will there be a different look? I hope so."

"I think the main focus was just making sure the three older guys, me, Liv (Nelson-Ododa) and Christyn, were just always on the same page and that starts in practice," UConn redshirt junior Evina Westbrook said. "We all have to be on point from the very start to the very end for us to be successful. So that was really emphasized in these last few practices."

Monday marked Auriemma's first session with the media after the annoucement that incoming freshman Saylor Poffenbarger will join the team a semester early.

Poffenbarger, a 6-foot-2 guard from Middletown, Maryland, was the 30th-ranked player in the high school class of 2021 and the 13th-ranked guard. With her high school season in jeopardy because of COVID and already in line to graduate early, Poffenbarger made the decision to enroll at UConn for the spring semester.

She begins class Tuesday and retains all four years of eligibility after this season due to the NCAA decision to allow all winter athletes to retain their eligibility due to the pandemic.

Poffenbarger must quarantine for 10 days before joining the team. She will wear uniform No. 4.

"Certainly, a lot of things had to fall into place," Auriemma said of Poffenbarger's arrival. "Shea (Ralph, assistant coach) spent a lot of time with all the logistics of it; there was a lot of work done on this end, as well, to make sure we've got all the protocols in place, getting registered for all of her courses.

"What are the expectations? I don't know. I don't know where Saylor is at this point. Not having played competitive basketball in a while, it's not like she's been working out every day with her team and playing in games and can just pick up where she left off. ... Maybe she gets in a game (this season), maybe she doesn't. Maybe she contributes, maybe she doesn't. Being out on the court and practicing, those are the things that are beneficial."

Meanwhile, Butler (1-8, 1-7) is led by 6-0 guard/forward Okako Adika with 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs are coming off an 83-68 loss Sunday at Seton Hall.

Auriemma said he's uncertain as of yet what the UConn starting lineup will be.

"Whoever comes in the game, whether you start or you're coming off the bench, you have a specific job to get done for us to be successful," Westbrook said. "... Everyone has a job, so just make sure that you do your job whenever your time is called to get on the court."

v.fulkerson@theday.com