4 Takeaways From the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Elite Eight
📖 Full Retelling
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 [MEN'S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats] After UConn won back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, which moved the Huskies into a tie with North Carolina for the third-most titles in college basketball history (six), the long and arduous quest for a three-peat fizzled almost from the start. By late November of last season, Hurley’s team had already lost three consecutive games at the Maui Invi
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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 [MEN'S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats] After UConn won back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, which moved the Huskies into a tie with North Carolina for the third-most titles in college basketball history (six), the long and arduous quest for a three-peat fizzled almost from the start. By late November of last season, Hurley’s team had already lost three consecutive games at the Maui Invi
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