As the final seconds melted away in Sunday evening’s Elite Eight showdown between No. 2 UConn and top-seeded Duke, it began to feel like the frantic comeback orchestrated by the Huskies, who trailed the Blue Devils by 19 in the waning moments of the first half, would fall mercilessly short.
But then, as if pulled from a fairytale ending nobody saw coming, an attempted jump pass by Duke guard Cayden Boozer was tipped near midcourt and recouped by counterpart Braylon Mullins from the Huskies. Mullins dished to forward Alex Karaban along the right wing with the clock evaporating. Karaban flipped it back to Mullins, the true freshman sharpshooter who’d missed seemingly everything he launched for the first 39 minutes against Duke. Now, Mullins had no choice. He hoisted from several feet beyond the logo.
With the ball still in flight, Mullins began backpedaling as his desperation heave arced beautifully, poetically, parabolically toward the hoop. And when it swished softly through the net with 0.4 seconds remaining — thrusting the Huskies in front for an improbable 73-72 win that ranks among the greatest comebacks and moments in program history — Mullins was already beyond midcourt, closer to the despair and desolation being exhaled by Duke than the riot that exploded along the UConn bench.
Just like that, the Huskies were heading to the Final Four for the third time in four years. Just like that, UConn had authored an all-time NCAA Tournament moment.
Here are my takeaways from the Elite Eight:
1. Pursuit of history continues for UConn under Dan Hurley
Braylon Mullins of the UConn Huskies celebrates after making a game-winning 3-pointer against Duke. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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After UConn gained back-to-back nationwide championships in 2023 and 2024, which moved the Huskies right into a tie with North Carolina for the third-most titles in faculty basketball historical past (six), the lengthy and arduous quest for a three-peat fizzled virtually from the beginning.
By late November of final season, Hurley’s staff had already misplaced three consecutive video games on the Maui Invitational, the place his sideline antics turned a nationwide storyline. By late February, the Huskies had been 10-6 in Big East play, trailing St. John’s and Creighton within the convention’s pecking order. By mid-March, they’d flamed out of the Large East Match with a loss to the Bluejays within the semifinals. And by the Spherical of 32, only some days after the Large Dance started, UConn fell to No. 1 seed Florida, who went on to win the entire thing.
Dealing with an offseason heavy with introspection, Hurley responded the one manner he knew how: rebuilding and retooling the Huskies into a greater model than what they placed on the ground final season. He added a high-level switch guard in Silas Demary Jr. from Georgia. He signed two instant-impact freshmen in Mullins and Eric Reibe, each of whom had been McDonald’s All-Individuals. He dared veterans like Karaban, guard Solo Ball and heart Tarris Reed Jr. to change into the dominant forces their predecessors had been when UConn cruised to consecutive titles. He plucked a well-respected assistant coach from Villanova in Mike Nardi.
At first, the items all appeared to suit collectively superbly. The Huskies opened by profitable 22 of their first 23 video games regardless of accidents to Reed and Mullins. The primary and solely staff to beat UConn earlier than February arrived was Arizona, which is able to be a part of the Huskies in Indianapolis.
However Hurley’s staff suffered 4 defeats within the span of 5 weeks to choke away each the Large East common season title and any likelihood of profitable the Large East Match, each of which had been claimed by St. John’s. When the Huskies had been revealed as a 2-seed on Choice Sunday, it was straightforward to doubt their possibilities of making one other prolonged run. Nothing concerning the previous few weeks recommended extra March magic would occur — till, in fact, it did.
UConn started by beating No. 15 Furman and No. 7 UCLA to achieve the second weekend. Then, Hurley’s staff fended off No. 3 Michigan State in a Candy 16 brawl between two of the hardest applications within the nation. Merely reaching the Elite Eight felt like an accomplishment for a staff that by no means fairly regained its early-season type. The 19-point deficit within the first half towards Duke on Sunday appeared to lastly mark the start of an ugly finish, particularly when contemplating that 1-seeds entered the day 134-0 in video games they lead by 15 or extra factors at halftime.
“I simply thought to start out the sport we had been a little bit bit on our heels,” Hurley stated on the postgame information convention. “I assumed we had been too defensive defensively. We did not get after them and attempt to stress them or make them uncomfortable. I simply assume that we most likely gave a little bit bit an excessive amount of respect to their particular person gamers.”
Historical past, nevertheless, didn’t account for an onslaught of 3-pointers in crunch time after the Huskies missed 18 of their first 19 from past the arc. Nor did it contemplate what may occur if Duke turned the ball six instances within the ultimate 9:58. And historical past definitely didn’t keep in mind that UConn has been the game’s most profitable program over the past quarter-century, profitable all six of its nationwide titles since 1999 — another than the Blue Devils possess of their complete trophy case.
All of which set the stage for Mullins to do what Mullins finally did on Sunday evening. And now UConn remains to be alive to chase its third championship within the final 4 years.
“That sport was a mirrored image on the season,” Hurley stated. “It has been a season the place we have handled accidents to key gamers at important factors of the yr that we have needed to overcome, and we have needed to present a variety of fortitude and resilience and simply sort of claw our manner by way of the season. The sport was a microcosm of that: We fought, we clawed, put ourselves in place to benefit from a mistake that they made.
“And probably the most sensible shooters you may ever see shoot a basketball made an unbelievable, legendary March shot.”
2. Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg reaches new stage in postseason
Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts towards the Tennessee Volunteers. (Picture by Gregory Shamus/Getty Photos)
Michigan ahead Yaxel Lendeborg was already entrenched as probably the greatest gamers within the nation lengthy earlier than this yr’s NCAA Match started. The high-profile switch from UAB entered Sunday’s sport averaging 14.9 factors, 7.0 rebounds and three.3 assists per sport for a staff that gained the Big Ten common season title by 4 video games. He was named Participant of the 12 months within the convention and in addition earned consensus first-team All-America honors. He’s a surefire first-round choose within the upcoming NBA Draft.
So for Lendeborg to play nicely in the course of the Wolverines’ dominant run to the Remaining 4, a journey that was crystalized with a 33-point blowout of No. 6 Tennessee on Sunday, ought to hardly be thought-about a shock. And but, the heights he’s reached amid these final 4 video games soar above and past what he’s beforehand proven on the offensive finish of the ground:
It marks simply the second time all season that Lendeborg has posted no less than 4 consecutive video games with an offensive ranking of 136 or increased, according to KenPom. Previous to his present match run, the one different time he completed that feat was throughout a six-game stretch in Michigan’s non-conference schedule from Nov. 4 to Dec. 6.
“This was clearly one of many objectives due to the expertise we had in our locker room,” Michigan head coach Dusty Might stated in his postgame information convention. “There is a slippery slope of being completely happy and content material that we’re there, but in addition realizing you continue to have work to do for us to perform what could possibly be. Our final aim is to be enjoying [next] Monday.”
To place this outstanding stretch in context, contemplate the place Lendeborg’s offensive effectivity ranks on the nationwide stage. His particular person ranking of 154.5 since March 17 — the day that this yr’s First 4 started — is third within the nation amongst gamers who logged no less than 75 minutes since then, according to Torvik. Lendeborg trails Purdue guard C.J. Cox (155.5) and Nebraska guard Pryce Sandfort (155) in that class. There are solely two different gamers whose offensive scores even exceed 140 throughout the identical time interval.
What was already an incredible season for Lendeborg is coming into a brand new stratosphere.
3. Arizona can have one enormous statistical benefit within the Remaining 4
Ivan Kharchenkov of the Arizona Wildcats reacts in the course of the second half of a sport towards the Purdue Boilermakers. (Picture by Ezra Shaw/Getty Photos)
There was one thing uniquely apropos about Arizona taking its first lead towards No. 2 Purdue on Saturday evening from the free-throw line, the place guard Jaden Bradley made a pair with 14:34 remaining within the sport, formally erasing his staff’s seven-point halftime deficit. The Wildcats, who pulled away to win by 15, would by no means path once more.
All season, head coach Tommy Lloyd’s staff has thrived by attacking the rim in an period outlined largely by 3-point taking pictures. Arizona scores greater than 56% of its factors from contained in the arc, according to KenPom, which ranks 14th nationally and first by a landslide amongst groups within the Remaining 4.
For Lloyd’s group, the pure byproduct of making use of a lot inside stress is drawing fouls in massive portions, which interprets to extra free throws. Arizona shot 22 free throws towards the Boilermakers, 39 towards No. 4 Arkansas, 39 towards No. 8 Utah State and 33 towards No. 16 LIU. The tip end result? Ninety-nine factors from the free-throw line throughout 4 video games, in comparison with solely 43 makes for the Wildcats’ opponents.
“Once you offensive rebound, you get fouled,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter stated in his postgame information convention. “Once you’ve obtained fast guards that may beat you, you get fouled. Go take a look at their free throws. That is the fewest quantity of free-throws they’ve shot in a sport within the NCAA Match to this point. They’ve simply lived within the paint. That was our concern.”
It will likely be the priority of each staff remaining on this yr’s match, given how massive the disparity is between Arizona and the remainder of the sector. Coming into the Remaining 4, the Wildcats rank seventh nationally in free-throw fee, in response to KenPom, which measures how typically a staff generates free throws. Not one of the different nationwide semifinalists come shut: Michigan is a centesimal, Illinois is 237th, UConn is 306th.
If Arizona succeeds in profitable its first nationwide championship since 1997, an uncanny means to generate free throws shall be among the many largest the reason why.
4. Illinois and Arizona showcase faculty basketball’s worldwide enlargement
David Mirkovic #0 of the Illinois Preventing Illini hugs Tomislav Ivisic #13 after a play towards the Iowa Hawkeyes. (Picture by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Photos)
In early February, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer granted me an interview for a collection about what’s, no less than by way of effectivity, the best offensive season in faculty basketball historical past. Groups throughout the nation had been scoring the ball simpler, extra steadily and in additional methods than ever earlier than, and I needed to grasp a number of the rationale behind the continued explosion. One of many causes Scheyer identified was improved roster constructing in an age when gamers are flooding the game from each nook of the globe.
“I believe you’ve got the flexibility to construct round your greatest gamers otherwise,” Scheyer informed me. “The pool is larger. As a substitute of simply with the ability to take highschool gamers, you possibly can take principally anyone in faculty, European, now the G-League doubtlessly. It’s a hell of a possibility as a coach. And clearly all people has their very own manner of doing it.”
Quick-forward to late March and the primary two groups to qualify for this yr’s Remaining 4 — Illinois and Arizona — definitely have their very own manner of doing it. Each Lloyd and Illinois head coach Brad Underwood have stuffed their rosters with elite worldwide expertise that’s prepared and prepared to commerce lower-level skilled experiences abroad for the prospect to play collegiately in the USA.
Take into account the Illini, whose second-, third-, fifth- and sixth-leading scorers — Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic — all hail from Europe. The connection between Illinois and worldwide prospects has grown so sturdy that memes portraying Underwood in conventional Jap European garb are generally shared on social media, together with by the coach himself:
Take into account the Wildcats, whose fourth- and fifth-leading scorers — Ivan Kharchenkov and Motiejus Krivas — plus their most dynamic scorer off the bench — Anthony Dell’Orso — all got here from outdoors the USA. Lloyd, now in his fifth season, discovered the ins and outs of worldwide recruiting throughout his two-decade stint as an assistant coach at Gonzaga.
“I believe faculty basketball, within the final two years, is on the highest stage of efficiency that I’ve witnessed in my 50 years,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino stated earlier than his staff’s loss to No. 1 Duke within the Candy 16. “That is as a result of the overseas affect, they now not wish to go to the EuroLeague or the EuroCup. They wish to go to the [United] States as a result of they earn more money. We will even rival the EuroLeague so far as pay is worried. The way in which the sport is being performed on the court docket is the perfect I’ve ever witnessed.”
4½. What’s subsequent?
Listed below are just a few storylines to observe as we transfer to the Remaining 4:
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 1 Arizona — With all due respect to followers of UConn and Illinois, this semifinal matchup between 1-seeds can, and possibly will, be seen as a de facto nationwide title sport. No two groups had been extra dominant by way of the primary 4 rounds of the NCAA Match. No two groups emerged from extra dominant conferences to win their respective common season titles. And no two groups are higher positioned to battle within the low submit than the Wildcats and Wolverines, who’ve essentially the most fearsome front-court rotations within the nation. This sport must be an absolute basic.
No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 UConn — Because of the historic shot from Mullins, whose place in UConn historical past is now unquestionably safe, the Huskies will journey to the Remaining 4 realizing they’ve already crushed their forthcoming opponent. UConn and Illinois met in a non-conference matchup at Madison Sq. Backyard on Nov. 28, lengthy earlier than both staff reached its peak postseason type. Hurley’s staff prevailed quite comfortably, 74-61. Reed and Illinois star Keaton Wagler mixed to attain simply 5 factors in that sport, which affords a window into how a lot has modified since then. The rematch in Indianapolis will include many, many new layers.
