Before Braylon Mullins splashed in one of the most electrifying, game-winning shots in the history of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, his main focus was getting the ball to a teammate.
The University of Connecticut freshman spoke on "TODAY" on Monday about what was going through his head in the frantic seconds before he nailed a 3-pointer from near halfcourt with 0.3 of a second remaining to shock top-seeded Duke, 73-72, and send the Huskies to the Final Four.
With eight seconds left in the game on Sunday, Duke had the ball and a two-point lead. Mullins and a teammate deflected a pass near midcourt, and he tracked down the loose ball for a steal and one more chance to tie or win the game.
“I know that when we were on the defensive side of the ball, we tried to get a stop, try to foul the worst free-throw shooter on the floor,” Mullins said on "TODAY." “And they ended up turning the ball over, and I wanted to get the ball to Alex (Karaban).”
After the steal, he threw a pass ahead to Karaban — who threw it right back to Mullins.
“He had just hit a shot I think a minute before that, and he ended up throwing the ball back to me,” Mullins said. “And I knew there were like four seconds left on the clock, so I thought that was the best opportunity we were going to get.”
Mullins then launched a 3-pointer that will go down in March Madness history.
But before he hit that magical shot, he had struggled with 3-for-9 shooting from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point range. He finished the game with 10 points.
“That was the one I hit yesterday,” he said. “I couldn’t hit the easy ones, but the hard one went down.”
Mullin’s shot completed a comeback that had never been seen in March Madness history. No. 1 seeds that led by 15 or more points at halftime had been 134-0 in tournament history before UConn rallied to take down the Blue Devils. The Huskies trailed by as many as 19 points before they roared back to win it.
“Still full of emotions,” Mullins said. “I can’t even explain it myself. It’s crazy that it all happened yesterday.”
UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who has led the Huskies to two national championships, kept their spirits up at halftime when they entered the break down 44-29 to Duke.
“I think he was just keeping the positivity and instilling the confidence in everybody,” Mullins said. “We just knew we had to chip at the lead.”
“I think we got the lead to single digits by like the 10-minute mark of the second half, and so we knew the game was manageable from there,” he added.
Hurley spoke glowingly of Mullins on the CBS broadcast following the win.
“The courage,” he said. “The young man, he’s a rare human being, the toughness about him, to take the shot on a tough shooting night, but he was due.”
Not only did the miracle shot by Mullins send UConn to the Final Four, it also means a trip home for the Huskies freshman, who won Indiana’s “Mr. Basketball” award in 2025 as his home state’s top high school player.
The Final Four and championship games will play in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
“That was kind of the goal to get me back into Indy, and now being able to do that and fulfill that dream, it’s crazy to think about,” Mullins said. “Little kid me, he is running around the room right now. That’s something that I’ve always dreamed of, to be a part of this tournament, especially playing back home, so I’m so excited for next week.”
The Huskies will take on Illinois on Saturday as they try to reach their third national title game in the last four seasons.
