TAMPA - The Bulls proved to themselves and the nation that they could hang with a big-time team Wednesday night.

The USF men's basketball team led for most of the first half and trailed by only one with less than 7 minutes remaining before suffering a 60-57 loss to No. 9 Connecticut before a crowd of 5,705 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"If our team plays like this, we'll win a lot of games," USF head coach Stan Heath said. "We're not into moral victories, but we're into getting better and I'm seeing progress."

USF (7-7) trailed, 46-45, with 6:27 left before the Huskies (11-1) seized control of the Big East opener for both teams by making four straights stops that widened their lead to five.

"I thought that was the ball game," said UConn assistant head coach George Blaney, who took over in place of Jim Calhoun. "I thought our defense was pretty good."

The Bulls trailed by eight with 14 seconds remaining, cut it to six with 7 seconds left and got it closer at the end thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Victory Rudd Jr.

Toarlyn Fitzpatrick led the Bulls with a team-high 14 points and 12 rebounds - 11 on the defensive end.

Rebounding was a big reason why USF led for all but the final 8 seconds of the first half. USF controlled the Huskies on the boards by a 14-10 margin while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range, including a 3-for-3 performance by Fitzpatrick.

"We didn't rebound as well as we did in the first half," Fitzpatrick said. "That was the difference-maker in the second half."

Fitzpatrick was correct.

UConn outrebounded USF, 26-16, after the break, which led to 16 second-chance points by the end.

"Their rebounding went to another level and that got them second and third opportunities that led to some scores," Heath said.

The other difference-maker was Jeremy Lamb, who posted a game-high 23 points. The sophomore had 16 in the second half including seven after the Huskies' clung to the 46-45 advantage.

"That's what a pro looks like. It's just do what you can do," Heath said. "He just made some tough shots and took over."

USF had historically given UConn tough games before Thursday with the teams splitting the past two meetings. Including Thursday, four of the past five contests have been decided by eight points or fewer.

"South Florida played really strong," Blaney said. "They were much more aggressive than they've been."

Augustus Gilchrist was the other Bull in double figures with 12 points, while Anthony Collins shined with six assists and five steals.

"The key is to continue to get better," Heath said.

The Bulls look to break even in the Big East on New Year's Day when they host Rutgers at noon back at the St. Pete Times Forum.