UConn's 38‑foot miracle
UConn erased a 19-point deficit and won on a 38-foot buzzer‑beater to beat Duke in the Elite Eight — a finish Bill Simmons called “miraculous” on his podcast (youtube.com). Analysts credited Dan Hurley’s sideline intensity for the rally, and bookmakers now list UConn as the consensus favorite to repeat heading into the Final Four ( ).
Braylon Mullins, a UConn freshman, buried a deep buzzer‑beater measured at about 35 feet as time expired to give the Huskies a 73–72 win. (espn.com) The final sequence began when Silas Demary deflected a midcourt pass from Cayden Boozer, Mullins retrieved the loose ball near midcourt and the Huskies ran the quick play that ended with Mullins’ shot. (uconnhuskies.com) Mullins finished the game with 10 points, while Tarris Reed Jr. paced UConn with 26 points, nine rebounds and four blocks and was named East Regional Most Outstanding Player. (sports.yahoo.com) Cameron Boozer led Duke with 27 points and eight rebounds in the Elite Eight loss. (goduke.com) Officials reviewed the closing play and reset the clock to 0.4 seconds after replay, leaving Duke insufficient time to respond. (sports.yahoo.com) UConn will meet No. 3 Illinois in the Final Four semifinal on Saturday, April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the UConn–Illinois tip scheduled for early in the evening session. (seatgeek.com) Early sportsbook lines opened Illinois as a roughly 1.5–2.5‑point favorite in the Final Four matchup, while tournament futures trackers showed UConn near +550 to win the national title. (sportsbettingdime.com)
