The first half of UConn’s 83-59 win at Seton Hall had a familiar feel to it.

The Pirates jumped out to a 16-9 lead behind white-hot shooting but the Huskies stayed calm and built an 18-point buffer at the half. That script has played out twice before in conference play already this season.

When Butler came to the XL Center on Dec. 18, it started 5-6 from three, was up after one, and led by as many as six in the second quarter. Once those shots stopped falling, UConn ultimately won by 26.

On New Year’s Eve, Marquette sprinted out to a 10-0 lead but the Huskies answered back almost immediately to erase the deficit and hold a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter en route to a 31-point victory.

When it happened again on Wednesday night, UConn knew it had to just ride out the storm. Seton Hall made seven of its first nine shots and four triples in the opening quarter despite averaging just 5.5 made 3-pointers per game entering the contest.

“They were shooting the three like they were the best 3-point shooting team in the country,” Geno Auriemma said postgame. “That’s going to happen some nights.”

The Huskies were also complicit in the early deficit. They turned it over just nine seconds into the game and had five giveaways at the 4:24 mark of the opening quarter.

Through 10 minutes, UConn trailed 23-21 but then quickly flipped the game on its head. In the second period, the Huskies out-scored Seton Hall 30-10 thanks to a 5-0 run followed by a 14-0 run followed by a 6-0 run followed by another 5-0 run to close the half.

“We didn’t really change that much, we just kind of figured at some point it’ll even itself out,” Auriemma said.

As has been the case all season, the spark came from the defense. UConn allowed just three baskets in the second quarter but it didn’t need to force turnovers to shut down the Pirates’ offense. They had just three in the second period but held the hosts to 3-19 shooting.

“The better we play defense, the better we’re gonna be able to operate down the other end,” Auriemma told SNY at the half.

Seton Hall made it interesting by out-scoring UConn 18-10 in the third quarter (more on that in a second) and even pulled within single-digits with 8:08 left in the game. But from there, the Huskies allowed just one more basket the rest of the way en route to a 24-point win.

“We should have to work hard for wins on the road,” Auriemma told SNY postgame. “I’m really proud of my time. We hung in there, we lost it a little bit but we got it back. We learned a lot tonight.”

Midway through the third quarter, Paige Bueckers and KK Arnold both dove after a loose ball and collided. Bueckers remained on the floor in obvious pain before walking to the bench under her own power. The replay showed that Arnold’s shoulder caught Bueckers in the head.

“I felt like my head and my neck were in different places,” she told SNY postgame.

Bueckers remained at the end of the bench and put an ice pack on her neck for a few minutes before moving back to her usual spot next to associate head coach Chris Dailey. Although it felt like an eternity, Bueckers only missed 3:47 of game time. There didn’t seem to be any lingering concerns about her health afterward, either.

"I'm feeling good, I'm feeling better than I did when it happened,” she said to SNY. “I might feel it on the bus ride but we won so I’m good.”

“She seems to be okay,” Auriemma added. “It wasn’t concussion stuff or anything like that.” He also added: “You don’t see many players of her caliber diving on loose balls like that face-first.”

Bueckers further backed that up with her play when she returned the floor.

Shortly after checking back in, she hit a pair of jumpers on back-to-back possessions. Bueckers finished with a season-high 32 points — 15 of which came after the collision — on an efficient 12-17 from the floor and 4-8 from three. She also added seven rebounds and three assists.

Bueckers’ absence did temporarily derail UConn’s offense. While the team started slow out of the half by missing four of its first five shots, it didn’t do much of anything without its superstar. The Huskies scored just once, an Ashlynn Shade 3-pointer, while missing four shots in a row at one point.

Considering all they’ve been through with injuries this year — not to mention Bueckers’ impact — it’s hard to blame them.

“Maybe we’re a little gun-shy that when something like that happens to one of the guys, we start to imagine the worst,” Auriemma said. “It took us a little bit of time to get our bearings.”

Geno: “I’m glad everyone’s healthy.”

Coming into Wednesday night, KK Arnold hadn’t made a 3-pointer since Jan. 3, enduring an 0-6 stretch over the previous three contests. Against Seton Hall, the freshman made up for lost time with a 4-6 night from deep en route to 15 points. That’s a career-high in both makes and attempts on triples for Arnold.

“She made a bunch today in shoot around. I think she felt good going in,” Auriemma said. “I think that's a great sign of maturity for her. She doesn't get that many during the game with Ash, Paige, and Nika the way she's been shooting it, there aren’t many left over. So today, I thought she took all the right ones.”

The coach wants Arnold to stay confident when she has a good look from deep.

“If that three becomes a really really, really consistent shot for her, I just think that elevates her to a certain level,” he said.

Seton Hall’s head coach Tony Bozzella offered high praise for the freshman.

“Look at the game KK played. I mean, she'd only made 10 threes coming in, and she made four today — and she made the four look like she made 400.”

It’s been seven years since UConn’s last triple-double, posted by Gabby Williams at ECU on Jan. 24, 2017. UConn has a few obvious candidates — Bueckers considering how well she’s rebounded recently in addition to her passing; Arnold with points, assists, and steals; or Edwards if she gets her typical points and rebounds double-double but has a good day either passing or on defense — but there’s another who’s under the radar: Nika Mühl.

On Wednesday, she had 10 assists, six rebounds, and five points. The game prior, she had a double-double with 13 assists and 10 points, but only three rebounds. Against Marquette, she put up 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five points. In the win over Louisville, she totaled 10 assists, seven rebounds, and three assists.

While Mühl hasn’t been on the verge of a triple-double yet, she’s getting close.

On the topic of big numbers from the guards, UConn’s backcourt continues to hit the glass. While Edwards led the team with nine rebounds, Bueckers chipped in seven while Mühl had six. Last game, Bueckers had nine. Mühl’s recorded at least five boards in three of her last six games.

That’s been a big help for the Huskies, especially since they’ll be without rebounding machine Aubrey Griffin for the rest of the season.

One negative out of the win: UConn’s free throw shooting. At 71.4 percent (15-21) it wasn’t abysmal by any means, but it wasn’t good either. It was the Huskies’ seventh-lowest mark in 18 games this season.

Of all people, Bueckers was the biggest culprit at 4-7. That’s been the one area that hasn’t returned to pre-injury form yet. As a freshman, she knocked down 86.9 percent from the stripe. The next year, Bueckers started at 76.9 percent before the injury but dropped to 66.7 percent after she returned. She’s been perfectly fine this season at 80.3 percent, but she should be a lot closer to 90 percent.