No. 25 UConn will look to continue a trend of bounce-back victories in Big East play when it hosts DePaul in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday night in the teams’ second and final meeting of the season.

For the Huskies (14-6, 6-3), all three conferences losses have come within the last five games, including 76-72 at Xavier on Saturday. UConn’s other defeats during the span have been by two and five points, respectively.

“It’s been a very frustrating season because that game has played out a lot,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said of the Xavier matchup.

Hurley pointed to defensive breakdowns and turnovers as doing his team in, despite it erasing two 10-point deficits to lead at halftime and closing within two late with Alex Karaban fouled out for the first time all season.

Solo Ball’s first career double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) led the way. Ball has scored double-figure points in 18 of UConn’s 20 games in his sophomore campaign after doing so only three times last season.

The Huskies’ uneasy stretch has come with freshman Liam McNeeley sidelined for the past six games due to a high ankle sprain.

The former McDonald’s All-American was the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder before he went down in an 81-68 win against the Blue Demons on Jan. 1. Hurley, however, believes “his absence has affected multiple players negatively.”

McNeeley’s eventual return, though, could help to write a different story.

“If we could, obviously, get Liam back and we could get some consistency from Aidan (Mahaney) there, we could be a much different-looking team,” Hurley said. “You’ve got to be able to win enough games so you’re not demoralized when you get healthier.”

Mahaney, a Saint Mary’s (Calif.) transfer, netted 14 points off the bench against Xavier. That effort is just what the Huskies needed, and will need moving forward.

“I think we brought him in to play exactly like he just played,” Hurley said. “As far as our guards go, he has the most offensive talent, especially of our point guards.”

The Blue Demons (10-11, 1-9), meanwhile, will stay on the road following an 86-69 loss Saturday at Butler, their second straight defeat since a Jan. 17 win at Georgetown.

First-year DePaul coach Chris Holtmann described his group’s offensive effort as improved from a 73-49 loss to Creighton the prior Tuesday, having shot 50.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over a season-low six times. Putting it together, though, will be the key moving forward.

“We still didn’t shoot it like we have, but we were really good offensively (against Butler),” Holtmann said. “The deal was we just had really struggled guarding them. … We’ve got to be able to do it on both ends.”

Seven different players have been DePaul’s game-leading scorer this season, including NJ Benson, who did so for the third time with 20 points and nine rebounds on Saturday.

The former Missouri State transfer entered Saturday with averages of 11.8 points and 9.3 rebounds as a starter — which included three games with David Skogman injured — and only added to those totals against the Bulldogs.

“NJ is growing right in front of our eyes,” Holtmann said. “He’s getting better. He just needed to be better defensively (last game).”

UConn beat DePaul 81-68 on New Year’s Day in Chicago, with Ball scoring a career-high 22 points on 7-of-9 3-point shooting. He added six rebounds.

Benson recorded a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Conor Enright scored 18 points to tie his career-high mark for DePaul.

–Field Level Media