GAME NOTES: The defending national champion Connecticut Huskies and Temple Owls open up American Athletic Conference play and bring an end to the 2014 calendar year, as the two teams meet up at the XL Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Kevin Ollie's Huskies haven't exactly been on top of their game this season after winning the national title a year ago. Connecticut comes into conference play with a rather modest 6-4 overall record, thanks to wins in three of their last four games. The Huskies blew out Central Connecticut State on Sunday (81-48) in non-conference play.

Fran Dunphy's Owls are eying up their 10th victory of the season. Temple comes into league action having won three straight and five of its last six games to settle at 9-4 on the year. The most impressive win was a 77-52 blowout of powerhouse Kansas on Dec. 22. Most recently, the Owls posted a 66-56 win over Delaware State on Sunday.

This marks the 10th all-time meeting between these two programs. UConn holds a 7-2 series lead and has won five straight over the Owls. Temple's last win in this series dates all the way back to 1964.

A defensive-minded squad, Temple is allowing just 61.5 ppg this season, holding foes to a mere .377 shooting effort, which includes a .308 clip from behind the arc. Although Temple has shown flashes of strong scoring potential - namely the big win over Kansas - the team's numbers on the season are much more subdued, averaging 65.3 ppg, on just .378 shooting. The recent addition of Jesse Morgan to the lineup has definitely helped, as he has averaged 16.0 ppg in the three games since his debut on Dec. 18. That has opened things up a bit for fellow guards Quenton DeCosey (14.5 ppg) and Will Cummings (14.2 ppg).

Temple didn't shoot the ball particularly well once again in the win over Delaware State, but the Owls did hold their opponent to a 25-percent shooting effort in the first half and took a 10-point lead (31-21) into the break as a result. Morgan led the way offensively with 15 points. Forward Jaylen Bond had a huge game up front, recording a double-double with 12 points and an impressive 18 rebounds.

Of the four losses on the season for UConn, three have come against teams currently residing in the Top-25 in West Virginia, Texas and Duke. So, the numbers may be a bit deceiving, as this is a team that is still dangerous. Offensively, the Huskies are averaging a modest 69.5 ppg, but they are doing so on an efficient .468 shooting. Senior guard Ryan Boatright headlines the offensive attack and actually leads the entire conference in scoring at 19.2 ppg. Sophomore center Amida Brimah (12.2 ppg) and freshman swingman Daniel Hamilton (11.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg) are part of the youth movement at UConn.

Everything went right for the Huskies in their lopsided victory over CCSU last time out. UConn dominated both halves of the game and finished up shooting a sizzling .533 from the floor, while owning a 42-28 edge in rebounding. Five Huskies managed to notch double-digit scoring totals, led by Boatright's 18 points. Rodney Purvis poured in 14 points, followed by Kentan Facey (12 pts), Brimah (12 pts) and Omar Calhoun (11 pts). The 6-9 Facey recorded a double- double as he also reeled in a dozen rebounds in the win.

This should be a highly entertaining matchup to tip off the AAC schedule. When on, Temple can beat just about anyone, as evidenced by the big win over the Jayhawks. However, on the road, against a UConn team starting to grow in confidence, it won't be easy.