UConn head coach Dan Hurley said "that's what March Madness is all about" after Braylon Mullins made a last-second 3-pointer to complete the Huskies' comeback against Duke and punch their ticket to the Final Four.
"I knew it was a deep shot. I didn't realize how far away he was until – until I watched the replay of it, but it was kind of tracking in line," Hurley said in an interview with "CBS Mornings" on Monday. "Braylon is such a special shooter."
Braylon Mullins #24 of the UConn Huskies celebrates after shooting the game-winning three-point basket during the second half of a game against the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
At one point during the first half of the game on Sunday, Duke was ahead of UConn by 19 points. The top-seeded Blue Devils led by 15 at the half, but Hurley said despite the deficit for UConn, "it wasn't an eerie locker room" at halftime.
"The locker room was … lively, you know, there was some frustration," he said. "There was a lot of belief, and, you know, the team's been through a lot this year. It's been through a lot of injuries. We have had a lot of close games and we really … leaned on our resiliency and fortitude, and our habits of preparation and how hard we practiced."
A pass by Duke deflected by UConn's Silas Demary Jr. led to Mullins' game-winning shot.
"It was the perfect situation where he got the ball in rhythm from a distance that was, like, right at the edge of his range as a shooter and he had no time to think about it," Hurley said of Mullins. "He was able to just let it go."
With Sunday's victory, UConn joins Illinois, Arizona and Michigan in the Final Four – making its third Final Four appearance in the last four seasons.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Dan Hurley on UConn's thrilling win over Duke
UConn head coach talks about thrilling win and major comeback
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