Exhibition games can lie. Performances don’t always translate to the regular season.

In 2021, Dorka Juhász finished with 15 points on 7-10 shooting and eight rebounds against Division II Fort Hays State. She looked like the low-post force that UConn had been missing for years. But once the games started to count, she rarely played that well in her first season with the Huskies.

Two years later, Ayanna Patterson put together arguably the best showing of her UConn career in a tune-up with DII Kutztown. She flashed immense potential with her rebounding, physicality and energy in a way that was rarely replicated during her time in Storrs.

So for now, everything that happened in the Syracuse game — good, bad and everything else — needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The upcoming showdown with Texas will help separate truth from fiction. So what from last Monday could potentially be an illusion that never reappears?