You can't script this. You can try, and Hollywood would reject it for being too unrealistic. Down 19. Shooting 1-of-18 from three as a team. Your freshman guard is 0-for-4 on the night and has been ice cold from deep for over a month. And somehow, with 0.4 seconds on the clock, that freshman — a 19-year-old kid from Greenfield, Indiana who graduated high school less than a year ago — catches a quick pass off a steal and drains a 35-footer over outstretched Blue Devil arms to beat the No. 1 seed in the country. [1]
UConn 73, Duke 72. Final Four. Just like that.
Braylon Mullins is going to be talking about this shot for the rest of his life. Everyone who watched it is going to be talking about it for the rest of theirs. That's what March does — it creates these moments that don't make logical sense but make complete emotional sense, and the Mullins buzzer beater already slots into that pantheon of shots you describe with your hands. The Christian Laettner conversation is already happening. Let it happen. That shot earned it. [2]
Down 19. Didn't Flinch.
Before we get to the finish, let's talk about what UConn pulled off to even be in position for a miracle. The Huskies trailed by 19 points in the first half. Duke was running their stuff, their offense was humming, and UConn looked like a team that had gotten a little too cute with its bracket. The Blue Devils had gone 134-0 when leading by 15 or more at halftime as a No. 1 seed. Historically, mathematically, the game was over. [1]
