Dan Hurley still sounds like a man who knows exactly how big that Duke win was.
On a recent episode of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast, the UConn coach revisited the kind of finish that can haunt one fan base and fuel another for years. The Huskies’ 73-72 Elite Eight victory over Duke came after a game that looked all but finished for long stretches, with the Blue Devils controlling the action and carrying a 15-point halftime lead.
Duke had the upper hand for most of the night. The Blue Devils pushed the margin to 19 in the first half, then kept UConn at arm’s length deep into the second half.
They were still up 17 with a little more than 17 minutes left, ahead by 11 with under eight minutes remaining, and still in front by five with less than two minutes to go. For Duke, it looked like a Final Four berth was slipping into place.
Then the ending turned into one of the wildest sequences the NCAA Tournament has ever seen.
Silas Demary Jr. hit a free throw with 10 seconds left to trim the gap to 72-70. Duke inbounded the ball and was basically waiting to get fouled, but Cayden Boozer’s pass over half court toward Patrick Ngongba was tipped away. The ball ended up with freshman Braylon Mullins, who rose from the logo with under five seconds left and buried the shot that stunned Duke and sent UConn through.
Before that collapse, 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament that led by 15 or more at halftime were 134-0. UConn led only twice all game, at 2-0 and then at 73-72.
Hurley described the win as one that demanded everything from his team.
"Just, you know, how hard we had to fight in the game," Hurley said. "Just how great Duke was, how great Duke is.
How much respect you have for that opponent. Having to beat a program like that to get to a Final Four."
He went even further when talking about what the victory meant.
"The level of gratification on that one was through the roof," Hurley later added on the victory. "Just because, it was a character win. You know, it was truly like a culture win."
The loss was another brutal finish for Jon Scheyer and Duke, who had come off a Sweet 16 win over St. John’s and entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed with Cameron Boozer leading the way as the runaway National Player of the Year. After back-to-back NCAA Tournament collapses, Duke rebuilt with one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the country, hoping to bounce back and chase a sixth national title in 2027.
There’s also a strange twist in the story now. Former Blue Devil Nik Khamenia, who was with Duke when Mullins hit that shot, transferred to UConn this offseason.
The Blue Devils and Huskies will meet again in Las Vegas on Nov. 25.
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