UConn Comes Back In The Second Half, Wins 73-72
Not what we hoped for, but congratulations to UConn.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Braylon Mullins #24 of the UConn Huskies hits the game winning shot in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during the Elite Eight round game of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images D uke and UConn once again put on a game for the ages, with the Huskies coming back for a dramatic 73-72 win. People will compare it to Houston’s comeback last year, but it’s not quite the same thing: this time, Duke’s Caleb Foster and Pat Ngongba were playing with serious foot injuries, and Maliq Brown had back spasms after Friday’s win over St.
John’s. Still, the Blue Devils were in position to win after a brilliant first half. Duke got out to a great start against UConn on both offense and defense.
UConn relied heavily on Terrence Reed, who got 12 early points, and 12 of UConn’s first 16, but the Huskies struggled overall on offense, shooting just 35% overall and 1-11 on threes, for 9%. By contrast, Duke shot 52% overall and 45% from three. Outside of Reed, UConn shot 7-24 for 29%.
The Blue Devils also shut Alex Karaban out completely, holding him to 0-5 before halftime. Duke dominated the boards, 22-13, and assisted on 11 of 15 baskets. The Boozer brothers combined to nearly outscore UConn by themselves: Cameron had 14 and Cayden 13.