A year ago, the mere thought that A.J. Price could miss a game might have sent UConn into a tailspin.

But with what freshman Kemba Walker has done in his limited time with the team, as well as the emergence of Jerome Dyson into a complete offensive player and the continued maturation of senior Craig Austrie, Price's injury is almost a non-issue.

Almost.

The senior point guard landed awkwardly on the left foot of guard Brigham Waginger in Friday's 81-55 season-opening win over Western Carolina, limiting him for the remainder of the game and causing him to miss practice on Saturday and Sunday.

In any other early-season game, the guard trio, along with Donnell Beverly, could step up in Price's absence. But with a guard-heavy team like Hartford taking the court tonight (7 p.m., MyTV9), Price's injury means the Huskies could be shorthanded.

"I don't want to re-injure myself playing in this game," Price told reporters at practice on Sunday. "Not to say this game is an easy game … but with the road coming up ahead of us, I want to make sure I'm 100 percent for those games."

The Huskies got a dry run through life without Price in the final seven minutes of Friday's game after Price, who threw a jab at Western Carolina's Joey Parker, was ejected for a flagrant foul.

He finished the game without a single point for only the second time in his career, though he did have five rebounds and four assists.

"A.J. didn't have it from the beginning, sprained his ankle and just couldn't get it going," head coach Jim Calhoun said Friday.