Associate head coach George Blaney filled in for Jim Calhoun during Thursday's weekly Big East conference call.

Calhoun wasn't feeling well.

Watching UConn's dreadful offensive performance in a 58-44 loss at No. 14 Georgetown Wednesday night was enough to make anyone feel queasy.

The slumping Huskies scored their fewest points since losing to Syracuse, 59-42, Feb. 1, 1999. They also shot their lowest percent (30 percent) from the field since misfiring at a 23.8 percent rate against the Orange in 1997.

UConn jumped out to a 13-5 lead before badly stumbling for its sixth loss in eight games.

"We started off great…," Blaney said. "We moved the ball. We were pushing it. Then we went a 12-minute period where we went 1-for-18. … We thought we had great looks."

Blaney also credited Georgetown for sticking to its game plan.

He wants the Huskies take fewer 3-pointers – they went 2-for-20 – and go inside more.

"When you're not making (shots), you've got to go where you can make them, so go inside a little bit more," Blaney said. "I just think movement is the real key. If we get movement and we try to get the ball up the court, that's the answer.

"Every night presents a different problem because the other team is doing something, too. The other team's style has a lot to do with how the offense goes."

Blaney also had some interesting things to say about the team's leadership issues.

On the court, the Huskies are a rudderless ship right now. Co-captains Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier have fallen short in filling the sizable leadership void left behind by the departure of Kemba Walker.

"I don't think it has been solved," Blaney said. "Guys are trying to do it and trying to step up. One of the problems that we've been having is we really are very young. Just because we have a lot of sophomores who played last year, we're still a very, very young team. We're still struggling with that part of the game.

"We had such a dynamite leader last year in both Kemba and Donnell Beverly. People forget a lot about Donnell. His contributions to the team were enormous … He had a tremendous affect on the team. We haven't been able to replace that yet."

Blaney added that he'd like Napier, Oriakhi and Jeremy Lamb to assume leadership duties. Lamb has worked hard to try to be a leader but his laid-back personality makes it difficult.

Oriakhi is just in a major funk.

"Alex is trying," Blaney said. "He's really a great kid. Probably not too many people work harder than he does. At this stage, he's doing it more by example. I still think we need a little bit more of a verbal leader."

Someone has to win on Saturday when UConn hosts Seton Hall at the XL Center in Hartford. The Huskies are mired in a four-game losing streak and the Pirates have dropped five straight.

"It's going to be a real mental game…," Blaney said. "It will be very tough. We know that we're in for a battle."

-- Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said that Herb Pope is day-to-day after brusing two ribs in a loss to Marquette on Tuesday. He sat out practice Thursday.

"He bruised his ribs pretty bad...," Willard said. "It will probably be a game time decision."

-- UConn practices Friday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion. Check back tomorrow for updates from practice.

-- Follow me on Twitter @GavinKeefe