UConn-Notre Dame: Do or Die Time for the Huskies?

UConn is in trouble again.

Prior to the nightmarish "Senior Day" game against Louisville, there was a consensus that the Huskies needed to win two of their three remaining regular season games to avoid having to do something magical in the Big East tournament.

Well, they went ahead and threw away the Louisville game—literally...to the tune of 22 turnovers.

UConn was firing on all cylinders for the first 15 minutes of that game but then, somehow, completely forgot how to maintain possession of the ball. The insane number of turnovers completely negated an otherwise solid performance that included sheer domination on the boards.

Simple math tells us that both remaining games are now "must wins."

It starts tonight in South Bend for a rematch against fellow bubble resident Notre Dame (19-10, Big East 8-8). The Huskies took the first meeting in Hartford 82-70 on Jan. 2, but that was back when UConn was ranked 10th in the country and dreaming of a return to the Final Four—before the mental implosion and free-fall that culminated in their Hall of Fame head coach needing a medical leave of absence.

How can UConn regain the momentum they had following victories over Villanova, Rutgers, and West Virginia? Easy...take care of the dang (original word deleted) ball.

It is ironic that two of the three scholarship seniors, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson, were personally responsible for 11 of the turnovers in the Louisville game. For all of their sick athleticism, Dyson and Robinson don't always use the most important weapon a basketball player has...their brain.

Basketball is a simple game: Put the ball in the basket. In order to do that, you really need possession of the ball. Don't give it to the other team, and good things could happen, especially if you have advantages in talent and athleticism over almost every opponent you face.

Can the Huskies beat a desperate ND team, a team missing their All-American forward Luke Harangody? Of course they can—same way they could have beaten Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, and every other top team they have played. Value the basketball and let your talent take over.

Will they? Who knows...that is what makes this year's Huskies team so much maddening fun to watch.