UConn completes comeback on a prayer 3 to knock off Duke, head to Final Four

· Yahoo Sports

WASHINGTON – For 39 minutes and 59 seconds, it look like Connecticut’s bid for a third national title was going to fall short.

Until freshman guard Braylon Mullins hit one of the great shot in men’s NCAA Tournament history putting the Huskies into the Final Four with a 73-72 defeat of Duke in the championship game history.

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The unlikely finish came after Connecticut trailed by as much as 19 in the first half and were down by two with 10 seconds left. Attempting to get a steal, Silas Demery deflected a pass by Blue Devils guard Cayden Boozer The ball would wind up in the hands of the Huskies and Mullins would launch a 35-footer that would be for the win.

It swished through the basket with 0.4 seconds left, keeping Connecticut's hopes of winning a third national title in four years alive.

The heroics from Mullins were preceded by some key plays by Alex Karaban and Solo Ball, the two regulars remaining from that team won consecutive titles in 2023-24. The duo who are the team’s second- and third-leading scorers, combined for 15 points on 5-of- 21 shooting.  

But their experience was significant down the stretch.

Ball had two baskets and a free throw in a run that Duke’s 9-point lead with five minutes left lead to 67-65

Karaban’s three-pointer with 50 seconds left trimmed the margin to one and set the stage for Mullins’ shot, which came 35 years after Duke’s Christian Lattner hit a similar buzzer-beater in the Elite Eight that knocked Connecticut out of the tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn beats Duke in Elite 8 on Braylon Mullins stunning 3-pointer

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