WASHINGTON, MARCH 30, 2026 —
What You Need To Know
- UConn freshman Braylon Mullins hit a 35-foot three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to complete a 19-point comeback and beat No. 1 seed Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight Sunday — one of the most dramatic finishes in NCAA Tournament history
- The win advances UConn to the Final Four for the third time in four years — where they will face No. 3 Illinois on Saturday in Indianapolis, Mullins’ home state
- Cameron Boozer’s college career is over — the freshman phenom who entered the tournament as the most hyped player since Zion Williamson finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, and a broken bracket for millions of Americans
He was 0-for-4 from three-point range. His team trailed by 19 points. Duke had the ball with 10 seconds left, up two, needing only to keep it away from UConn to send the No. 1 overall seed to the Final Four. And then Cayden Boozer made an errant pass, Silas Demary Jr. made an incredible deflection, Braylon Mullins caught the ball near half court with six seconds left, took three dribbles, and launched a 35-foot three-pointer that fell through the net with 0.4 seconds remaining.
UConn 73, Duke 72.
The Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. — packed with Duke fans who had expected to celebrate a Final Four berth — went silent for approximately two seconds. Then it erupted. Mullins, a freshman from just outside Indianapolis who will now return home to play in the Final Four, sprinted away from the arc with his arms raised before being buried under his teammates. Coach Dan Hurley ran toward his players. Duke’s Cameron Boozer, who had just played what almost certainly was his last college basketball game, stood at half court staring at the net where Mullins’ shot had just fallen.
The Game Nobody Expected
The first half was never close. Duke built a 44-29 halftime lead behind the most dominant 20 minutes of Cameron Boozer’s college career — 18 points, eight rebounds, and a performance that had analysts across the country projecting a Boozer-led Duke Final Four. UConn made just one three-pointer in the first half, going 1-for-11 from the arc. Only Tarris Reed Jr. — the Huskies’ senior center — kept the game from becoming a blowout, scoring 12 of UConn’s 29 first-half points on sheer physicality inside.
Duke extended the lead to 19 early in the second half. According to ESPN Research, No. 1 seeds had been 134-0 all-time when leading by 15 or more points at halftime — until Sunday.
The Comeback
Reed began the second-half rally with a dunk off a steal that cut the deficit to 10 with 13 minutes left. From there, UConn’s defense tightened to suffocation. Duke, which had operated freely in the first half, suddenly couldn’t find clean looks. The Huskies’ second-half offensive efficiency soared. Three-pointers started falling. The deficit went from 10 to seven to four to two — and with 1:33 left, what had been a 98.7% Duke win probability at halftime was down to something that felt genuinely precarious.
Duke’s Cayden Boozer, who had been brilliant in the first half with 13 points, committed the turnover that started the final sequence. Silas Demary Jr.’s deflection gave the ball to Mullins. And Mullins — who had missed his first four three-point attempts on the day — launched the most important shot of his life from 35 feet.
“I knew I had to put one up,” Mullins said in his postgame press conference, still processing what had happened. “I’m just happy that was the one that went down tonight.”
Dan Hurley was characteristically precise about the moment. “I watched the trajectory of the ball and I said, this s— might go in.” Senior Alex Karaban, who had the assist on the winning shot, was simpler: “The Indiana kid sent us to Indianapolis.”
The History That Makes This Moment Bigger
This was not just a great buzzer beater. It was revenge — served 36 years cold.
In 1990, Duke’s Christian Laettner hit a buzzer beater to defeat UConn in the Elite Eight, sending the Blue Devils to the Final Four and breaking Husky hearts for a generation. On Sunday night, in Washington D.C., a UConn freshman hit a 35-footer to beat Duke in the Elite Eight and send the Huskies to the Final Four instead. The symmetry was not lost on UConn fans who had waited 36 years for this specific moment of karmic balance.
Duke’s pain runs even deeper when examined across the full Scheyer era. This was the third time in his four seasons as head coach that the Blue Devils blew a double-digit lead in a loss — all three in meaningful games. Something about Duke’s late-game execution under Scheyer buckles under peak pressure, and Sunday’s loss, coming in an Elite Eight with the nation watching, will define his tenure in ways no regular-season win can erase.
Final Four — What Comes Next
UConn faces No. 3 Illinois in the Final Four on Saturday, April 4 at 6:09 PM ET on CBS in Indianapolis. The other semifinal features the bracket’s surviving teams from the opposite side. The Huskies, seeking their third national championship in four years, are the sentimental favorite of everyone who watched Sunday night. Braylon Mullins, who grew up 30 minutes from Lucas Oil Stadium, will play the biggest game of his life in the building he grew up dreaming about.
