UConn Stuns Duke with Last-Second 40-Footer, Books Third Final Four in Four Years

Washington, D.C. – The comeback was so unlikely that even Dan Hurley, a coach who rarely minces words, struggled to process it. Trailing by 19 points late in the first half and still down 50-33 early in the second, UConn looked every bit the team on the brink of elimination. Instead, the Huskies authored one of the most dramatic reversals in recent Elite Eight memory, edging Duke 73-72 on a 40-foot buzzer-beater that sent Capital One Arena into delirium and punched the program’s ticket to Indianapolis.

“We were on our heels, way too respectful,” Hurley said after his team improved to 33-5. “We didn’t pressure, didn’t make them uncomfortable. We basically watched them play.”

For 20 minutes the Blue Devils could do no wrong. A 14-0 first-half burst, five threes before the break and a 44-29 halftime cushion had Duke eyeing a return to the Final Four. UConn’s offense, meanwhile, misfired from every angle—1-of-11 from deep to open the game, 1-of-18 at one stretch—and even Tarris Reed Jr.’s early punch wasn’t enough to mask the lethargy.

The script flipped when Hurley dialed up the pressure. Malachi Smith, inserted for his ball-hawking, ignited a defense that forced 13 second-half turnovers—eight after intermission—and turned those mistakes into a 20-7 edge in points off giveaways. Smith finished with nine points and a game-high +10 in 17 minutes. Silas Demary Jr., laboring on a tender ankle, added 11 points and five boards while hounding Duke’s guards alongside freshman Jaden Ross.

“Just upping the defensive energy a little bit helped us a lot,” Hurley said. “Turnovers have been an issue for them, like they have for us. We got after them.”

The payoff arrived in the final minute. Alex Karaban—quiet all night with five points but zero turnovers in 38 steady minutes—drilled a wing three with 50.5 seconds left to trim the deficit to 70-68. Demary Jr. then forced a loose ball, and in the scramble guard Jalen Mullins grabbed it, sprinted to the logo and launched a 40-footer that splashed through the net as the horn sounded, capping a 1-of-18 start from beyond the arc with four makes in the last five tries.

From 19 down to one unforgettable heave, UConn secured its third Final Four berth in four seasons and extended to 18 games its NCAA-tournament winning streak in the second weekend or later, a run that dates to 2011.

Awaiting the Huskies at Lucas Oil Stadium is Illinois, a three-seed making its first national-semifinal appearance in 21 years after a 71-59 dismissal of Iowa. The Illini (28-8) counter with five double-figure scorers, headlined by projected lottery pick Keaton Wagler and sharpshooter Andrej Stojakovic, who is averaging 15 points this postseason. Illinois has never won a title in five previous Final Four trips; UConn has captured the championship each of the last two times it reached this stage.

Hurley, still processing the madness, isn’t looking back.

“We can’t afford to wait 30 minutes to impose our will,” he said. “Do that Saturday and the season’s over.”

UConn and Illinois tip off next Saturday in Indianapolis with a berth in the national title game on the line.