Another game, another dismal defeat for the UConn Huskies.

The Huskies’ offense went cold at inopportune times once again and Coach Hurley's squad fell to host Providence 70-59 on Wednesday night inside Alumni Hall in Providence.

UConn (8-5, 5-5 Big East) lost for the fourth time in the last five games.

“A pretty demoralized group right now,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said of his team after their defeat.

R.J. Cole led the way with 14 points and six assists, while Tyrese Martin added 13 points before fouling out.

Freshman Adama Sanogo was one of the few bright spots, scoring nine points with career highs in rebounds (eight) and blocks (five).

Nate Watson and David Duke each scored 17 for the Friars (10-10, 6-8).

The Huskies led 34-33 at the half behind Cole’s 10 points and five assists, but the Friars took the lead with 17:15 to play in the second half and held on for the victory.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

A New Hope: With the exception of Cole’s first half, the Huskies’ upperclassmen underachieved. The two bright spots on the court were Sanogo and fellow freshman Andre Jackson (six points, four rebounds, two assists, one block). While neither are ready to lead the team this season, they offer UConn a bright future as they continue to progress. Sanogo came in with six blocks on the season and almost doubled it.

Hurley: “Right now for us, just looking at the game, being able to get those guys valuable minutes I guess for the stretch run of the season and the long-term, it helps the program and what we are trying to do here. And it’s probably the only good thing that came from today was getting two freshmen a ton of minutes.”

WHAT NEEDS WORK

Veteran Presence: In the Big East, you are not winning with a couple freshmen pulling the way. Losing James Bouknight is a blow, but the Huskies’ upperclassmen have not stepped up to help offset that blow on a consistent basis - particularly on the offensive end. The biggest absence over the last few games has been senior Isaiah Whaley, who was relatively quiet with four points, six rebounds, and one block in 29 minutes before fouling out. Senior Tyler Polley’s shooting woes continue (2-for-12) and Martin was streaky all game. Junior Brendan Adams recorded no statistics in 12 minutes. As a team, UConn shot 40.3 percent, including 36.7 (11-for-30) in the second half.

Hurley: “The statistics - you see the shooting numbers - there’s not a lot of ways for us to go. I thought Tyler got seven or eight great looks from (3-point range) and he made one. We got in the paint and we were in position to potentially make plays and finish. We couldn’t deliver.”

Getting the Point: Hurley opted to shuffle the lineup and start sophomore Jalen Gaffney at point guard over Cole. Gaffney was coming off a career-high 20 point game, but got into foul trouble early and went to the bench. Cole had the hot hand before the break, but also struggled in the second half.

Hurley: “Obviously, with the situation we are in right now (no Bouknight), we need a lot more from the point guard position if we are going to win games. Rewarding Jalen for having a really strong offensive game the last time out and then also to send R.J. a message that we need a lot more from him, not just offensively but as a leader and as a defender and as a tough guy. So, obviously, I’m not sure what to do now because Jalen didn’t play very well and R.J. had a good first half and didn’t give us a lot in the second half.”

Check out our postgame coverage to hear what R.J. Cole had to say after the game!

NOTES

Bouknight (elbow) did not play even though Hurley said afterward that Bouknight still had discomfort Monday after visiting his surgeon - a non-UConn doctor - and the decision was made not to play against the Friars. Hurley added Bouknight’s surgeon has final say in clearing the sophomore guard’s return. … Akok Akok also remained out of action. … Cole and Brendan Adams were replaced in the starting lineup by Gaffney and Tyler Polley. Cole had started all 12 games this season up to this point.

UP NEXT

UConn's next game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 13 at Villanova. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. (noon) and the contest will be televised on FOX.