GAME NOTES: The Connecticut Huskies return home after two straight road losses to take on the UCF Knights in an American Athletic Conference bout at Gampel Pavilion on Thursday.

Connecticut, the defending national champion, is trying to keep up a winning record. The Huskies are 9-7 this season after two straight losses, including a 72-59 trouncing at the hands of Stanford Saturday. They are just 2-2 in AAC play so far.

UCF is just about on the same path as the Huskies. The Knights are 9-8 this season after a 99-79 thumping at the hands of Memphis on Saturday. Away from home, UCF is a mere 1-4, with the lone road win coming in an overtime contest against Houston.

This will be the seventh meeting between UCF and UConn. The Huskies hold a 5-1 all-time advantage over the Knights, which includes a win in February of last season in Orlando, 75-55.

UCF played extremely tough against Tulane just days before its contest against Memphis, and came away with a hard-fought triple-overtime win, 103-100. But perhaps that contest tired the squad out, because the Knights struggled defensively against the Tigers, who shot 51.4 percent from the floor in the contest. Daiquan Walker led the charge for UCF in the loss, netting 18 points, while freshman sensation B.J. Taylor added 17 points, connecting on 13-of-15 from the free-throw line. Brandon Goodwin chipped in with 12 points in 34 minutes of action.

Taylor has been the most reliable scorer for the Knights this season, which is promising for the team going forward considering his age. He currently leads UCF in scoring at 14.9 ppg, averaging more than three points per outing over second-leading scorer Adonys Henriquez, who checks in at 11.5 ppg. Goodwin rounds out a trio of double-digit scorers for the Knights at 10.5 ppg. The team as a whole is netting 70.2 ppg this season on 45 percent shooting. The issue for the Knights in 2014-15 has been on the defensive end. The team is allowing opponents to shoot 45 percent from the field and amass 73.4 ppg - one of the worst averages in the conference this season.

UConn took a break from conference play last Saturday to travel to California for a visit with the Cardinal of Stanford. The trip didn't go all that well for the Huskies, who only shot 3-of-5 from the free-throw line and connected on 41.8 percent of their tries from the floor in a 13-point defeat. Rodney Purvis led Connecticut in scoring with 14 points, adding in a team-best five rebounds off the bench. Omar Calhoun was the only other player to net a double-digit scoring total for UConn at 11 points. Ryan Boatright scored seven points and dished out seven assists in the loss.

Boatright has been one of the most consistent players in the American Athletic Conference this season, netting a team-best 15.7 ppg, with 74 assists, 27 steals and a 4.5 rpg mark. He tops a trio of double-digit scorers for the Huskies this season, as Amida Brimah (10.8 ppg) and Daniel Hamilton (10.3 ppg) add to the team's scoring effort, which churns out 65.5 ppg on 45.4 percent shooting. The Huskies have been solid defensively, surrendering only 60.6 ppg to opponents through 16 contests. Kentan Facey (6.4 rpg) will need to be strong on the glass once again in order to take down the Knights.

UConn will have to get Boatright involved early after his sub-par scoring performance against Stanford. UCF will need Taylor and Goodwin to take the scoring reins once again, but against Connecticut's strong scoring defense at Gampel Pavilion, the Knights may be outmatched again.