Coach Dan Hurley has been tough on his UConn basketball team ever since Saturday.

Yes, UConn still easily beat Binghamton (87-63), but the Huskies didn't play up to Hurley's high standards.

Hurley called his team's defense a debacle.

He spoke to the media on Tuesday from Paradise Island in the Bahamas where UConn will compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis, playing three games in three days.

"Obviously, I've been on edge the last couple of days with the team because I didn't like what I saw on Saturday," Hurley said. "I've been on everybody pretty hard here the last couple of days about getting that thing fixed."

The No. 22 Huskies (4-0) arrived Monday.

Hurley knows a similar performance this week, starting with Wednesday's game against No. 19 Auburn (3-0) at Imperial Arena (2:30 p.m., ESPN), will end with a disappointing result.

"In a lot of ways, we were the worst version of ourselves," Hurley said. "Hopefully, that was a wakeup call because the quality of what you play against here will expose all your shortcomings, especially a team like Auburn."

These three games against quality competition will reveal a lot about the Huskies, who breezed through their first four games winning by an average of 40.7 points. The loaded field also includes No. 6 Baylor, Michigan State, Loyola of Chicago, Syracuse, Virginia Commonwealth and Arizona State.

UConn will face either Michigan State or Loyola on Thanksgiving afternoon and finishes on Friday.

"Obviously, you want to come in here and compete for a championship," Hurley said. "These games are important in terms of what you're trying to do long term of learning about your team and where your blind spots are and where you really, really need to get better.

"The level of competition is going to rise significantly here. The areas where we need to improve will be exposed this week here. Then we'll have 22 more games like these when we get back."

UConn didn't do itself any favors by playing four significantly weaker teams prior to this week's tournament.

Hurley believes the Huskies, with eight returning veterans, will be ready for the step up in competition.

"We've got eight returning players that have played a lot of college basketball, so they know what's coming on Wednesday," Hurley said. "They've played a lot of games. They've played people like Houston. We've played in the NCAA tournament. We've played Villanova. We know what a high level team looks like."

Graduate guard R.J. Cole added: "Now we get a chance to play some tougher competition. I think we're ready for it. We know what we're about."

Auburn hasn't exactly played elite competition, either. Its toughest test came on Friday when it rallied from a nine-point second half deficit for a 58-52 road win at South Florida.

The Tigers are talented, athletic, deep and blessed with frontcourt size.

Six-foot-10 forward Jabari Smith, ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2021, is one of the top freshmen in the country. He's the son of former NBA player Jabari Smith, Sr., who starred at LSU before playing on the pro level for Nets, 76ers and Kings.

Another player to watch is sophomore guard K.D. Johnson, a Georgia transfer. He's been a lethal scorer off the bench, averaging 15 points per game.

Hurley said coach Bruce Pearl's team has Final Four potential.

"He's got an outstanding team, really really aggressive, athletic, attacking type of team," Hurley said. "Got a lot of respect for how hard they play."

The respect is mutual.

Pearl said UConn might be the best team in the Battle 4 Atlantis field.

"You talk about stepping up in class," Pearl said. "They're big, strong, athletic, tough, old. We're going to have to be able to handle their physicality. There's certain trademarks of certain cultures of certain teams. And Dan Hurley's teams are always going to be physical defensively, they're always going to rebound and they're always going to get high percentage looks."

Of course, every team's goal this week is to win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. If Arizona State, which is on the other side of the bracket, also reaches the final, it would set up a Hurley vs. Hurley match-up.

Dan's brother, Bobby, coaches the Sun Devils.

"In a perfect world, if we played in a championship game, it would be something that we'd both sign on for," Dan said. "It's obviously something that we would not look forward to, but obviously that's the goal for both of us."

g.keefe@theday.com

NO. 22 UCONN vs. NO. 19 AUBURN

Location: Imperial Arena, Paradise Island (Bahamas)

Tip: 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Records: UConn 4-0, Auburn 3-0

Last game: UConn beat Binghamton, 87-63, Saturday; Auburn won at South Florida, 58-52, Friday

Probable starters: UConn, 6-1 grad. guard R.J. Cole (11 pts, 4.5 assists), 6-6 so. Andre Jackson (8.8 pts, 7 rebs), 6-6 sr. guard Tyrese Martin (13.5 pts, 6.5 rebs), 6-9 grad. forward Isaiah Whaley (4.5 pts, 4.8 rebs), 6-9 so. forward Adama Sanogo (15.8 pts, 6.3 rebs)

Auburn, 5-11 so guard Wendell Green, Jr. (11.3 pts, 5.3 rebs, 3 assists), 6-0 sr. guard Zep Jasper (6.7 pts), 6-6 jr. guard Devan Cambridge (6.3 pts, 3 rebs), 6-10 fr. forward Jabari Smith (13.3 pts, 9 rebs), 7-1 so. center Walker Kessler (4.3 pts, 5.7 rebs, 3.6 blks)

Noteworthy: First of three Battle 4 Atlantis games. ... UConn off to its best start under fourth-year coach Dan Hurley. ... First road game this season for the Huskies. ... Series: UConn trails, 2-1, losing the last meeting 89-64 in 2017 at Auburn. ... Both teams rank in top 10 nationally in blocks per game — Auburn 5th at 8.0, UConn 9th at 7.0. ... Plenty in reserve: Bench trio of guard K.D. Johnson (15 pts), forwards Chris Moore (6.7) and Jaylin Williams (8.0) average a combined 29.7 pts per game. ... Tigers average margin of victory against Morehead State, Louisiana-Monroe and USF at 19.0. ... Auburn owns the best overall record in the SEC since 2017 (97-38). ... Tiger assistant Ira Bowman played at Providence. ... Hot: UConn has forced 89 turnovers, resulting in 122 pts. Cold: Cole 5 for 14 from field and averaged 6.5 pts in last two games. ... Huskies 3-11 vs. top 25 teams under Hurley, including 0-4 last season. Last win 77-71 vs. No. 21 Houston March 5, 2020. ... UConn 3-3 in two previous Battle 4 Atlantis trips, finishing third in 2011 and and fourth in 2015. ... Up next: UConn plays either Michigan State or Loyola-Chicago on Thursday afternoon. 

— Gavin Keefe