Just call it a March Miracle.

Braylon Mullins drained a 35-footer with a half-second remaining on the clock to give No. 2 seed UConn a 73-72 win over No. 1 overall seed Duke and a third trip to the Final Four in four seasons.

UConn (33-5) emerged on top of brutally tough East Region of the NCAA Tournament in the regional final in Washington, D.C., and will play Illinois on Satuday in one national semifinal. Michigan and Arizona, both No. 1 seeds in their respective regions, will meet in the other semifinal in Indianapolis.

As for this regional final, it was a classic Huskies fans won't forget anytime soon.

They will remember Duke’s commanding first half, when twins Cameron (14 points) and Cayden Boozer (13 points) scored 27 points as the Blue Devils took a 44-29 lead at the half. They will remember UConn chipping away at the deficit in the second half but never being able to catch up. They will remember the Mullins shot that gave the Huskies their first lead since they were up 2-0.

Throughout the first 20 minutes, the Duke (35-3) defense stifled the Huskies offense, pestering UConn on the perimeter and forcing the Huskies to run the offense through Tarris Reed down low. He had 12 points in the first half.

UConn couldn’t sink a 3-pointer – the Huskies were 1 of 11 in the first half – and they didn’t have an answer for the Boozer twins, either. When the Huskies double-teamed Cameron Boozer, he repeatedly found the unguarded shooter.

Reed was 5-of-10 shooting in the half, with the rest of the team 7 of 24.

UConn head coach Dan Hurley’s plan was to attack the deficit in small increments in the second half, but Duke increased its lead to 17 (50-33) with 2:49 gone in the half after a Patrick Ngongba dunk.

By the 12:20 mark, the Huskies had cut the deficit to single digits following an Alex Karaban layup. A dunk by Reed one minute later on the next score capped a 16-6 run for UConn, which had pared the score to 56-49.

The Huskies spun their wheels for the next six minutes, going back down by 10 (65-55) with 6:37 remaining.

 An Isaiah Evans free throw put the Blue Devils up by nine with 5:03 left but successive layups – one by Reed and two by Solo Ball – and a free throw by Ball trimmed the lead to 65-63. Cameron Boozer followed with a basket to give Duke a four-point lead again.

With just 28 seconds to go, Duke had a 3-point lead. Ball was fouled with 10 seconds left. He missed the first and made the second, giving Duke a 72-70 lead.

The Blue Devils could have just held the ball; they didn’t even need to get the ball past the midcourt line. But Cayden Boozer felt the pressure of a Duke double team by Mullins and Demary and attempted to pass the ball into the frontcourt with six seconds left.

Demary deflected the pass, Mullins picked up the ball and threw it to Karaban. With Cameron Boozer closing on Karaban, UConn's senior captain passed the ball back to Mullins who let the deep shot fly.

It went through the hoop for a 73-72 lead, and Duke couldn’t hit a long-range shot off the inbounds pass.

Mullins was 0-for-4 shooting from 3-point range and the Huskies just 4-of-22 before Mullins found nothing but net to give UConn an improbable, impossible, epic comeback win for the ages. He will live in UConn lore forever.

Mullins finished with 10 points, and Reed led the Huskies with 26 points and nine rebounds. Demary had 11 and Ball 10.

Duke’s season ended in heartbreak two years in a row. The Blue Devils lost to Houston in a national semifinal in 2025, squandering a 14-point lead with eight minutes to play.

The Blue Devils were led Sunday by Cameron Boozer, who scored 27 points and added eight rebounds and four assists. Cayden Boozer added 15 points, five rebounds and six assists. Dame Sarr finished with 10 points.

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