WASHINGTON — Freshman Braylon Mullins sank a 3-pointer from at least 30 feet with 0.4 seconds remaining, and No. 2 seed UConn completed a miraculous 19-point comeback to defeat No. 1 Duke 73-72 on Sunday and reach its third Final Four in four years.
Mullins’ heave marked the only time UConn (33-5) led since 2-0. It came after UConn opted not to foul on a Duke inbound play with 10 seconds remaining. The Blue Devils (35-3) reached halfcourt before Silas Demary Jr. deflected Cayden Boozer’s pass and Alex Karaban fed Mullins, who pulled up from the front edge of the March Madness logo.
Tarris Reed Jr. scored 26 points and finished a rebound shy of his third tournament double-double to keep the Huskies in it while they struggled from beyond the arc most of the day.
UConn finished 5 of 23 there (21.7%) after hitting just 1 of their first 18, yet still snapped the nation’s longest active winning streak at 14 games.
UConn advanced out of the East Region and remained alive for a third national title in four years and seventh overall. The Huskies will face No. 3 seed Illinois, which saw off No. 9 Iowa on Saturday in the South Region final.
Cameron Boozer scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds in what is likely his final collegiate game, with the Naismith Award favorite likely to be an NBA Draft lottery selection in June.
His freshman twin Cayden finished with 15 points and six assists before committing the fatal turnover, and Dame Sarr had 10 points as coach Jon Scheyer finished a game shy of back-to-back Final Four appearances as Mike Krzyzewski’s successor.
UConn tackled Duke’s advantage in pieces, first cutting an early 19-point deficit to 15 by halftime, then using an 8-1 run to get within seven.
After Duke restored its lead to double figures, another 10-2 UConn run closed it to within 67-65 when Ball took advantage of Evans’ turnover, raced up the court and completed a three-point play with 3:42 left.
Then came UConn’s game-winning 7-2 stretch. Karaban sank his only 3 of the contest — after averaging 22 points in his first three tournament games — before Demaray sank one of two free throws when Duke fouled intentionally, and Mullins hit one of the all-time great shots in the history of one of college basketball’s most decorated programs.
