UConn men’s basketball is back in national championship game after Final Four win over Illinois
INDIANAPOLIS – The UConn men’s basketball team is headed back to the national championship game for the third time in four years after taking down No. 3 seed Illinois, 71-62, in Saturday’s Final Four matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was the Indiana kid, Braylon Mullins, who starred and hit another clutch 3-point shot in the final minute to hold off a late comeback push from the Illini and move the Huskies to 7-1 all-time in national semifinal games.
Mullins complemented a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double from Tarris Reed Jr. with 15 points of his own, which included four 3-pointers. UConn, now 34-5 on the year and 77-33 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, will meet the winner of Arizona and Michigan in Monday night’s title bout.
Solo Ball added 13 points with three of the Huskies’ 12 made 3-pointers in the game and Alex Karaban, now 18-1 all-time in March Madness, finished with nine points, four rebounds and four assists despite shooting just 1-for-9 from the field. Point guard Silas Demary Jr. paced the offense with seven points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
And, as the head of the snake on defense, helped the Huskies hold Illinois – the No. 1 ranked offense in the nation – to just 33. 9% shooting from the field and 6-for-26 from 3-point range.
Mullins, who grew up about a half hour away from the arena and sent the Huskies back to his home state with the epic Elite Eight game-winner against Duke, fittingly made the first two 3-pointers of the game to lift the lid off the basket and help UConn get out to an 8-2 start. The freshman set the tone for a first half that saw seven made 3-pointers and zero turnovers from the Huskies. Reed continued his strong tournament run and asserted himself on the glass early, finishing a putback through a foul to begin a 10-2 scoring run.