STORRS, CONN.--In big games, the Harvard men's basketball team might want to change its halftime routine.

After losing a 14-point lead at Colorado in November, the Crimson watched its five-point advantage over Connecticut disappear during the final 20 minutes in Storrs, Conn., Wednesday. The Huskies opened the second half with a 22-10 run to grab the lead and held on for a 61-56 win. Harvard was outscored by a combined 30 second-half points against Connecticut and the Buffaloes.

Maybe Harvard has been rattled playing offense in front of large student sections at big schools. Maybe the Crimson’s lack of depth due to injury catches up to it in the second half. Maybe it’s just an issue of small sample size. Whatever it may be, Harvard cannot let the trend continue.

Last year, the Crimson closed big games. Against Princeton in league play and New Mexico in the NCAA Tournament, Harvard won the second half. It’ll have to start doing more of that against top-tier opponents if it wants to repeat last year’s success.

PLAYING WES-LESS

The biggest moment of Wednesday's game probably came before tip-off, when Harvard’s leading scorer, junior wing Wesley Saunders, was ruled out for the game with knee pain. He participated in the morning shootaround but ultimately could not play. How long Saunders will be out remains to be seen, but his impact on the team was evident in his absence.

The most obvious change was to Harvard’s rotation, which only utilized eight men while Connecticut rotated 10 players through. Without Saunders in the backcourt, sophomore Siyani Chambers and co-captain Brandyn Curry shouldered the biggest load with 38 minutes each on the floor.

Curry's 38 minutes matched the combined amount he had played over the previous six weeks. He missed a month of action with a achilles injury, and Harvard coach Tommy Amaker had been slowly upping his minutes since. Amaker had no choice but to ride Curry Wednesday.