GAME NOTES: The defending national champion Connecticut Huskies will look to string a pair of road wins together as the team takes on the South Florida Bulls in an American Athletic Conference matchup at the Sun Dome on Tuesday.

Connecticut took on Florida Saturday for the first time since the two teams met in the Final Four last season. The Huskies defeated the Gators yet again, this time by a 63-59 score, which means the team has won three of its last four to move to 7-5 on the season.

South Florida needed a win against East Carolina on Saturday in the worst way. The Bulls had dropped two contests in a row and seven of their last eight before a 58-50 victory over the Pirates put the team back on track.

This meeting will be the 15th in the all-time series between these conference rivals. Connecticut owns a commanding 12-2 all-time advantage over the Bulls, which includes a 2013-14 season sweep. The Huskies won last year in Tampa, 61-56.

Connecticut was able to overcome a six-point halftime deficit over Florida to battle back and take the four-point win. UConn held USF to 32 percent shooting in the second period, as the Huskies connected on all nine free-throw attempts in the half. Ryan Boatright collected 14 points to lead the team in scoring, while Omar Calhoun netted 12 points, Rodney Purvis added 11 points and Terrence Samuel scored 10, going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Amida Brimah brought down a team-high 10 rebounds in the non-conference win.

The road contest versus Florida was the first for the Huskies all season long, but the team should get used to a little time on the road, with three games away from home coming up in the next four outings. Connecticut is averaging 67.6 ppg this season on an impressive 45.7 percent shooting touch from the floor. Boatright tops the team and the conference in scoring, averaging 17.3 ppg with a team-best 50 assists. Brimah chips in 11.4 ppg, and Daniel Hamilton contributes 10.9 ppg for the Huskies. Kentan Facey tops the squad in rebounding, bringing down 6.8 boards per outing this season.

South Florida put forth a strong defensive effort against an East Carolina squad that had been giving several opponents fits in recent contests. The Bulls held ECU to 35.3 percent shooting from the floor in the game, and owned a 32-18 advantage in scoring down in the paint. The Bulls were led by Ruben Guerrero, who netted 13 points with seven rebounds in the win. Corey Allen Jr. tallied 12 points, and Chris Perry chipped in with 10 in the eight-point victory for the Bulls.

Allen leads South Florida in scoring this season, and checks in at third in the AAC with 15.9 ppg on 49.2 percent shooting from the field. Perry is the only other player to average a double-digit scoring (12.6 ppg) for a USF program netting 67.5 ppg this season. The problem for the Bulls, who are 7-8 coming into the clash with UConn, is containing opponent scoring. USF is allowing opponents to net 70.3 ppg on 42.1 percent shooting. The Bulls have struggled from distance as well, only making 26.9 percent of their 3-point attempts.

South Florida was able to pull out of the team's tailspin with a win over ECU, but the Bulls will need to start stringing together wins in AAC play in order to get back into the thick of playoff conversation. UConn however, showed it can win on the road against a tough Florida team, so there's no reason to think the team can't pull it off again in the Sunshine State.