UConn defeated Duke on a final shot, advancing to the Final Four. Braylon Mullins’ shot sealed the victory. However, Tarris Reed Jr.’s performance was also critical to UConn’s win.
Reed’s Dominance and Duke’s Late Turnovers
Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks. He scored 20 points in the paint, drew eight fouls and was a force for the Huskies. Alex Karaban totalled just five points and shot 20 percent from the field. He was held scoreless in the first half but both his buckets ended up being critical, more specifically his three in the final minutes to make it a one-point game.
The Boozer twins had four turnovers in the last 13:12, leading to 10 UConn points. Two of those turnovers came in the last 1:05, which led to two UConn three-pointers, including the game-winner.
Scheyer’s Struggles at Duke
Jon Scheyer already had massive shoes to fill taking over for his former coach, Mike Krzyzewski. He seemed to be filling those shoes well by building more elite rosters full of blue-chip talent including No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg last year and potential No. 1 overall pick Cameron Boozer this year. Now he’s overseen two shocking late collapses on massive NCAA Tournament stages with Duke teams expected to win it all — against Houston in the Final Four last year, and now against UConn to prevent a return trip to the Final Four.
The narrative around Scheyer’s time at the helm of his alma mater has flipped on a dime.
Mullins’ Game-Winning Shot
Freshman Braylon Mullins was 0-for-4 from deep prior to the final seconds. Nobody will remember those misses, they will only recall his 35-footer with 0.3 remaining to send UConn to the Final Four. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
That is an all-time March moment.
Looking Ahead
Dan Hurley was playing with house money after back-to-back dominant national title runs. This just adds to his already-sterling resume in March. The tournament moves on without Duke.