UConn stuns Duke with Braylon Mullins’ buzzer-beating 3, historic 19-point rally to advance to Final Four

UConn looked down and out in an Elite Eight matchup against Duke on Sunday that was billed as the biggest matchup yet of the NCAA tournament.

But it rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit to stun the Blue Devils, 73-72, in the East regional final with a wild second-half rally capped by a late Duke turnover and a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer.

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It added up to a historic rally for UConn to advance to the Final Four and a monumental collapse for a Duke team that entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.

UConn caps rally, win with all-time NCAA tournament shot

UConn chipped away at a 44-29 halftime deficit to get within one in the final minute. But Duke appeared to remain in control with a 74-72 lead and an inbounds play under its own basket in the final 10 seconds.

But the game wasn’t over. And UConn capitalized on a fateful botched Duke possession.

Cayden Boozer had the ball near halfcourt after a pass from Dame Sarr as UConn pressed. Silas Demary deflected Boozer’s pass into the frontcourt, and Braylon Mullins stole it for UConn. Mullins quickly fired a pass up court to Alex Karaban, who delivered it right back to Mullins near the logo.

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From there, Mullins didn’t hesitate. He pulled up from 35 feet to sink the game winner with 0.3 seconds remaining on the clock.

Chaos ensued, but there was still time on the clock.

Officials looked at the replay and reset the clock to 0.4 seconds, not nearly enough time for Duke to answer. And Duke’s season ends in devastating fashion.

Mullins: ‘Just happy to see that s*** go in’

Mullins talked about his late steal and shot with CBS after the game.

“I looked up at the clock and it said 5 seconds, so I tried to get the ball to somebody who had made one in the game,” Mullins said of his pass to Karaban after his steal. “And he wanted to throw it back. So I saw 3 seconds and it was the last shot.

“Just happy to see that s*** go in. I’m so happy.”

Head coach Dan Hurley praised Mullins’…

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Author : Jason Owens

Publish date : 2026-03-29 23:26:00

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