UConn junior forward Alex Karaban was hospitalized after suffering a head injury during the Huskies’ 85-67 loss to the Dayton Flyers at the Maui Invitational on Wednesday.

According to ESPN, Karaban was placed in concussion protocol after he hit his head on the ground during a foul. Karaban went to the hospital for further tests and UConn team doctor Robert Arciero said he was “optimistic” about Karaban’s condition.

UConn started the season 4-0 and entered this week as the No. 2 team in the nation, but the Huskies lost three straight games at the Maui Invitational to Memphis, Colorado and Dayton, all of whom are unranked.

Karaban was one of the few bright spots for UConn in Wednesday’s loss, scoring a team-high 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting along with three rebounds and an assist.

Through seven games this season, Karaban is the Huskies’ leading scorer with 15.9 points per game. He also shoots an impressive 50.7 percent from the field and 46.8 percent from distance.

The 6-foot-10 forward played a key role on UConn’s championship-winning teams each of the last two seasons. He averaged 9.3 points per game as a freshman and 13.3 points per game last season.

Karaban has become even more important this season due to the departure of several key players, including Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, all of whom were NBA draft picks.

Despite losing so much talent, head coach Dan Hurley resisted the advances of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and decided to stay at UConn in pursuit of a three-peat in the national championship.

No Division I men’s college basketball team has won three consecutive national titles since UCLA from 1967 to 1973.

UConn still has time to right the balance, but after suffering its third loss on Wednesday, it already has as many losses this season as it did all of last season, when it finished 37-3.

If Karaban is forced to miss some time, the Huskies’ turnaround will be even more difficult and an even greater scoring burden will fall on the shoulders of Solo Ball, Liam McNeeley and Tarris Reed Jr.

UConn returns home Saturday to host 2-8 Maryland Eastern Shore before a Dec. 4 home game against No. 17 Baylor.