STORRS, Conn. – An overpowered, outrun and outmatched Georgetown had no answers to the many problems No. 1 Connecticut presented Wednesday night. The Hoyas let the Huskies get out to a 26-point lead at halftime, and could do nothing to stop a team that could score every which way, falling 94-70.

The 24-point beating matched the worst loss in Head Coach Craig Esherick’s tenure.

Georgetown came into the game ready to defend everyone but senior guard Taliek Brown, and he responded by scoring a career-high 20 – the first time this season he has recorded double figures.

“We made a decision going into the game to try to help off of Brown, and Brown killed us,” Esherick said. “As good as [center Emeka] Okafor is, and as good as [guard Ben] Gordon is, I thought today, the best player on the floor for them was Taliek Brown.”

Brown, a sophomore, was instrumental in the fast breaks of the first half that allowed the Huskies to score point after point on layups. Throughout the first half, Connecticut pushed the ball up the court relentlessly, and Georgetown failed to get back on defense, oftentimes allowing Brown or junior guard Ben Gordon to dribble the ball from one end of the court to the other for a layup. In the first half Connecticut had more points in the paint, 32, than Georgetown had total.

“They were really getting it and throwing it out, and every time we seemed to be one step behind,” senior guard Gerald Riley said.

In the second half the game plan switched, and the Huskies stuck to a half-court set. But still they were able to get the ball inside to the junior Okafor, who had 17 of his 27 points in the second half, or even kick the ball outside to forward Denham Brown, who was 3-of-4 from the three-point line.

“They can hurt you on the break, they can hurt you inside with Okafor and they can hurt you from the three-point line. They hurt us in all three areas,” Esherick said.

Esherick threw several different defensive looks at the Huskies, from man-to-man, to a press, to a zone, and the Huskies easily dismantled each one. Georgetown’s press has been effective so far this season, but the quick Husky guards passed effortlessly around it and created fast breaks.

“We’re coming at you with so many numbers, we’re locking you down, we’re stealing the basketball, we’re blocking your shots, we’re doing all those kinds of things,” Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun said.

Okafor completed several dunks, including a one-handed put back, that made Georgetown’s big men look helpless. He finished with a career-high 27 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. But Okafor was just one of the Huskies’ big bodies that made it difficult for Georgetown to compete inside. With two 6-foot-11-inch players and a 6-foot-10-inch forward, all listed at 230 pounds, Georgetown’s best scoring forward, sophomore Brandon Bowman, was often out-muscled.

Bowman did manage to grab 11 rebounds, marking the first time this season an opponent had double figure rebounds against the Huskies. But overall, Georgetown was ineffective on the boards, getting outrebounded 47-31.

On the offensive end the Hoyas had balanced scoring, with sophomore guard Ashanti Cook’s 18 points leading. Bowman and Riley each scored 17. Connecticut mostly relied on their offense to get past the Hoyas; their defense never seemed to give the Hoyas, who so far have seemed to be a good ball-handling team, an unusual amount of trouble. Georgetown had 13 turnovers to Connecticut’s 10.

In the first half, Georgetown shot a poor 31 percent, but improved after halftime. Their three-point shooting was good, with Bowman, Owens and Cook combining to go 7-of-16.

The Hoyas made a 15-6 run at the beginning of the second half, and Esherick was generally pleased with their performance after the break.

Georgetown will take the weekend off before next week, which features matchups at home against St. John’s (4-8, 0-2) Tuesday and No. 2 Duke (12-1) Saturday.