When will the losing stop? 

The Big East Tournament is less than a week away and the Blue Demons continue to struggle to find a way into the win column. On Wednesday night in Hartford, Connecticut, DePaul couldn’t get things going, losing 88-59 to the No. 14 Huskies.

At one point in the first half, DePaul trailed 38-8 and allowed the Huskies to go on a 27-0 run.

With the loss, DePaul’s losing streak reached 11 games after Wednesday night’s 29-point loss. The team falls to 9-21 on the season and 3-16 in Big East play.

The Huskies came into the night as the 14th ranked team in the nation and Wednesday night’s performance against the Blue Demons showed why. UConn started off strong on both sides of the ball, testing DePaul’s interior defense and  holding the Demons to just two points in the first nine minutes.

DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield made some defensive adjustments during the media timeout at the 12 minute mark that held UConn’s offense to shoot 1-for-7 from the field over the next few minutes. During that stretch, the Blue Demons’ offense failed to capitalize.

UConn led DePaul 51-19 at halftime. The Blue Demons’ 19 points is the team’s lowest point total scored in a half this season. Senior center Nick Ongenda scored nine of DePaul’s 19 first-half points and was one of the few bright spots on Wednesday night.

Ongenda finished the night recording 17 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals, while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 at the free throw line. Ongenda recorded his 125th career block, ranking him sixth all-time in career blocks at DePaul. Ongenda is just three blocks away from moving into the top five in school history.

DePaul tried its best to overcome its poor first-half performance, but it was too late for a desperate Blue Demons team searching for some sort of positivity. DePaul started off the half connecting  on a three-pointer for the first time in the game. The shot came from graduate forward Javan Johnson, but UConn  kept scoring close, before eventually pulling away.

UConn was led by junior forward Adama Sanogo, who recorded 26 points and five rebounds, while shooting 11-of-14 from the field in 23 minutes of action. The Huskies ended the night with four players scoring double-digits.

Johnson scored his 60th career game of 10+ points, but his cold streak offensively continued for DePaul as he has now recorded 10 points or fewer in four-straight games. 

Both Johnson and graduate guard Umoja Gibson had no answer against UConn head coach Dan Hurley’s defense, which resulted in the duo combining to score 15 points, their lowest combined total of the season.

DePaul (9-21, 3-16) returns to Chicago on Saturday night to conclude the season with its final home. The Demons will take on Creighton (19-11, 13-6) at 8 p.m. at Wintrust Arena. The game will be broadcasted on FoxSports1.