NEWARK, N.J. _ The UConn men are running out of chances to show they belong in college basketball's upper echelon.
The Huskies did little on Saturday that was reminiscent of the their old vintage, despite the presence of two of their old champions sitting courtside. Looking out of their element much of the night, UConn was beaten by 11th-ranked Florida State, 79-71, in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center.
UConn led by seven points early, but was methodically ground to pieces by Florida State's bigger front court, harassed into a steady stream of turnovers by the Seminoles' defense and ultimately baited by the score into a series of desperate, low-percentage shots. With a chance to edge back in the game midway through the second half, the Huskies couldn't even hit at the line.
Eventually, Alterique Gilbert (21 points, a career high) began hitting 3-point shots and Jalen Adams (18) made a few tough baskets, and the Huskies, down by as much as 15, were within five in the final minutes. But the Seminoles made the necessary free throws to keep the Huskies at bay.
The magic that appeared in the air three weeks ago when UConn beat Syracuse in New York, has vanished and the Huskies have since been mired in mediocrity, splitting six games, beating mid-majors, but losing to Iowa, Arizona and Florida State. They have one more opportunity, against defending national champ Villanova on Dec. 22, but if they cannot pull an upset they will need to dominate American Athletic Conference play in January and February to entertain postseason aspirations.
And after turning the ball over 18 times, 11 in the first half and only seven assists, and shooting just 37.7 percent, going 7 for 21 on 3-point shots, UConn (7-3) looked like anything but an NCAA Tournament team. Florida State (8-1), with much of the cast that reached the Elite Eight, actually had more turnovers (21), but was clearly the better team. Terrence Mann scored 20, David Nichols and Mfiondu Kabengele 15 each. Christ Koumadje, 7 feet 4, had 11 rebounds.
Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, heroes of the Huskies' 2011 NCAA champs, took courtside seats opposite the UConn bench, and were quickly recognized by fans from Connecticut. Their team, the Hornets, are playing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The current Huskies started off with a lot of verve and jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Adams hitting a 3-pointer off a pass from Gilbert to complete the run. Fouls were mounting for both teams, and a technical on Christian Vital prompted coach Dan Hurley to sit him for the rest of the half. But the Huskies led 12-5 after Gilbert's jumper with 14:38 left in the half.
Over those 14{ minutes, there was some ragged play on both sides, but the Huskies' biggest issue so far this season, turnovers, raised its head again and began costing them. M.J. Walker's lay-in, off a turnover, gave the Seminoles their first lead, 17-16, and though the Huskies were out-rebounding their bigger opponents, they were unable to press that advantage.
The lead changed hands seven times in the half, the score tied six times. Gilbert's jumper gave UConn a 31-28 lead with 2:24 left, but Florida State controlled the rest of the half, and two free throws by Trent Forrest opened up a six-point lead, 39-33, at the break. UConn had turnover it over 11 times, and the Seminoles' defense had shut down Adams, who was 1 for 5 in the half. Kabengele and Nichols each had 13 points for the Seminoles in the half.
Mann, FSU's leading scorer, was quiet in the first half, but started the second half with a three to make it 42-33, the Seminoles in position to pull away. They picked UConn pockets on a couple of possessions, cashing in for more points and a 47-33 lead with 17:25 to play _ the Huskies' scoreless streak approaching four minutes.
UConn missed seven free throws in the second half, missed a chance to get the deficit down to single digits. Finally, Gilbert hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to bring the Huskies within seven, 63-56, with 6:54 to play, but Florida State responded with two stops, and two baskets to restore its lead to 12.
