Villanova coach Jay Wright understands the disruptions that UConn, which was hit with its third COVID-19 related break on Wednesday, is dealing with this season.

Last week, Wright's third-ranked Wildcats came off a 27-day break from back-to-back pauses.

UConn is on the sideline again after a referee who worked Tuesday's home game against Butler at Gampel Pavilion tested positive, forcing the postponement of Thursday's showdown with No. 3 Villanova and Sunday's game at St. John's.

Wright learned of the news Wednesday morning. He tried to set up a substitute game for the first-place Wildcats (10-1, 5-0) with either a Philadelphia area or Big East team without any success.

"Obviously, this is disappointing," Wright said during a Zoom call with the media. "I feel really bad for Connecticut. I feel bad for anybody that goes through this having gone through it now. It's tough to tell the kids, but this is nothing compared to when it's the other way around. At least, they get to practice. I really sense in them a disappointment that they're not playing, but a relief that we're still able to practice having gone through what we did.

"Our thoughts are with Connecticut. I really feel for them. Having been there, it's tough."

UConn will have to wait for its chance to try to knock off a top five team for the first time since 2014.

The Huskies will be in a modified quarantine and enter a daily testing protocol, not competing again until deemed safe and given the green light by medical professionals. The team's level of activity will be determined after testing and contact tracing.

They've been through this before. They experienced a 14-day pause running from Nov. 5-19 after a player tested positive and returned to action six days before the season opener. They had another shutdown that started on Dec. 6 due to another positive test within the program and didn't play again until Dec. 20.

So far, they've had 10 games either postponed or canceled for COVID-related reasons.

Butler will play its next game as scheduled against Xavier Friday. Only UConn, which is following state guidelines and protocols, is sidelined.

In the short term, UConn could benefit from the break, giving time for some injured Huskies to continue to heal. Freshman Andre Jackson is expected to return sometime next week after missing the last seven games with a broken bone in his left wrist. Akok Akok (shin) is out indefinitely and sophomore James Bouknight is unlikely to be back from an elbow injury until at least mid-February.

No makeup date has been set yet for the UConn-Villanova game in Storrs. The two teams are supposed to play Feb 20 at Villanova. By then, Bouknight could be in the lineup.

"All the other guys are stepping up and playing so well and then when you add (Bouknight) back into that mix, they're going to be a handful when they get him back," Wright said.

Wright is impressed with the rebuilding job that coach Dan Hurley has done. He thought that UConn (8-3, 5-3) played as good a game as any team in the conference this year in its 63-51 win over Butler.

"I've definitely seen improvement and progress each year since Danny has been there and throughout the year, especially this year," Wright said. "I think (Tuesday) night, they might have played their best game of the year. I thought they were outstanding — well-balanced offensively, just dominant defensively. I knew we were coming up there into a buzzsaw."

February is shaping up to be a busy month for both UConn and Villanova with all the games remaining. The Wildcats still have to reschedule four, the Huskies three (Villanova, St. John's, Xavier).

UConn's next game is Saturday, Feb. 6, against Seton Hall in Storrs.

g.keefe@theday.com