The UConn Huskies men’s basketball team did its best to follow the blueprint designed by their friends on the women’s team on Friday night at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn.

Take a decent lead early in the first half against Ohio State. Let the Buckeyes climb back into the game before halftime, helped by your team leader sitting on the bench for at least 12 minutes because of foul troubles.

Then, after the half, show Ohio State who’s boss.

That’s exactly what the No. 4 UConn Huskies women did in an 87-55 win over the No. 17 Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio, despite Sarah Strong playing only eight minutes in the opening half.

And that’s exactly what the No. 4 men’s Huskies (4-0) did against the Buckeyes (2-2) in their 84-68 win on Friday, despite Silas Demary playing only seven minutes in the first half.

The similarities between the game were downright eerie.

For the women, they were up 21-8 when Strong exited before Ohio State closed the half on a 27-17 run to trail by just three points at the half.

The men, with 4:19 remaining in the first half, took a 41-27 lead on a 3-point shot by freshman forward Egor Amosov. And then the Buckeyes came alive, closing the first half on a 13-1 run to trail by just two points.

In the second half, order was restored when Demary returned and retook his rightful place as team leader. He finished the game with 10 points and nine rebounds, but his teammates did their share en route to a convincing win.

Braylon Mullins finished with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Na’jai Hines showed what he can do in the post, scoring 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and a 6-of-7 performance from the foul line.

Freshman Colben Landrew, inserted into the starting lineup due to the foot injury to Nik Khamenia, had 12 points in 5-of-7 shooting.

Overall, the Huskies made 61.2% of their shots (30 of 48) and limited Ohio State to 49% (24 of 49).

Oskar Giltay led UConn with six rebounds, and Jayden Ross had three steals.

Jimmie Williams topped Ohio State with 17 points, and John Mobley Jr. added 16.

UConn fans in the arena held their collective breath when Mullins limped off the court with what appeared to be a left knee injury. He hobbled to the exercise bike on the sideline, the returned to the game a few minutes later without a noticeable limp.

In a postgame television interview, Mullins said he didn’t want to disclose any details and would be working with the training staff.

It appears Mullins escaped serious injury, crucial due to the loss of Khamenia for perhaps as long as two months.