UConn comes back from 19 down to stun Duke with last-second 3, punch last ticket to Final Four with historic rally

UConn looked down and out in an Elite Eight matchup against Duke on Sunday.

But it rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit to stun the Blue Devils in the East regional final with a wild second-half rally capped by a late Duke turnover and a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer.

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UConn chipped away at a 44-29 halftime deficit to get within 1 in the final minute. It then looked done when Duke had the ball and a 74-72 lead in the final 10 seconds. But Duke lost control with a turnover near halfcourt.

Cayden Boozer had the ball at halfcourt as UConn pressed. Silas Demery deflected his into the frontcourt and Braylon Mullins stole it for UConn. Mullins quickly fired a pass up court to Alex Karaban, who delivered it right back to Mullins on the logo.

From there, Mullins didn’t hesitate. He pulled up from 35 feet to sink the game-winner.

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Officials looked at the replay and put 0.4 seconds back on the clock, not nearly enough time for Duke to answer.

The win ties the sixth-largest comeback in NCAA tournament history. It ends Duke’s NCAA tournament and championship hopes in heartbreak for a second straight tournament following last year’s late breakdown in a Final Four loss to Houston.

And it sends the Huskies to the Final Four for the third time in four seasons. The last two times UConn got there, it won the national championship.

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UConn joins Arizona, Michigan and Illinois in the Final Four. It will play Illinois in Saturday’s national semifinal.

This story will be updated.