UConn hero Braylon Mullins rejected Duke as recruit before ripping away Final Four with iconic shot

Braylon Mullins will forever live in UConn basketball lore after hitting a game‑winner from 35 feet that sent the Huskies back to the Final Four. The go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left gave No. 2 seed UConn a 73-72 win and ended No. 1 overall seed Duke's season in one of the most dramatic swings of the NCAA Tournament. 

The irony was hard to miss. 

Mullins, a five‑star freshman guard from Indiana, had once been recruited by Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils. At one point, Duke was among his top 10 schools under consideration, and he even scheduled a visit to Durham in October 2024 -- only to cancel it before ultimately committing to UConn.

Less than a year and a half later, Mullins would deny the Blue Devils again, this time for a trip to the Final Four with a single, unforgettable shot.

Who is Braylon Mullins?

Mullins was the top‑rated incoming freshman in UConn's 2025 recruiting class. The No. 12 overall prospect nationally and No. 2 shooting guard took additional official visits to Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina, but it was Dan Hurley and the Huskies' vision for immediate impact that ultimately won him over.

"They got into my recruitment kind of late, so I kind of had my field already set," Mullins said this week. "You have to accept it, talk to Scheyer -- I mean, it's Duke, so you got to be grateful for getting that. When I had the teams that were recruiting me, I think they just came into it late. So I think that's why I didn't think about it a lot."

An Indiana native, Mullins played high school basketball at Greenfield‑Central just east of Indianapolis. He earned national recognition before arriving at UConn, earning McDonald's All-American honors and taking home the 2025 Mr. Basketball award in Indiana.

The 6‑foot‑6, 196‑pound guard quickly made his presence felt for UConn this season, serving as the Huskies' fourth‑leading scorer with averages of 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 43.5% from the field and 33.2% from 3‑point range.

Inside Braylon Mullins' miracle shot

UConn trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half and went to the locker room down 15, a margin that now stands as the largest halftime lead ever blown by a No. 1 seed in tournament history. The Huskies clawed back steadily, turning what looked like a comfortable Duke victory into a tense finish.

With under 10 seconds left and the Blue Devils clinging to a narrow lead, UConn forced a turnover on the inbound pass. Mullins scooped the ball near midcourt, quickly found teammate Alex Karaban, then received it back in stride. Without hesitation, he let it fly from 35 feet out to put the Huskies up 73-72 with only 0.4 left on the clock.

"Still at a loss of words," Mullins said after the game. "Still processing all of what just happened. I think that last possession it was just we were trying to foul the worst free-throw shooter on the floor, and Silas (Demary Jr.) ended up deflecting the pass to the other end of the floor. I had the ball, and I know [Karaban] had just hit one. So I threw it with four seconds left, and man, he just threw the ball back to me, and I knew I had to put one up."

After combining for 29 points in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament, Mullins was held to just eight points in the Sweet 16 against No. 3 seed Michigan State. 

Against Duke in the Elite Eight, he was struggling again, hitting just 3 of 9 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point range before delivering the 35-footer that sealed the Huskies' comeback.

"I'm just happy that was the one that went down tonight," Mullins said.

With the win, UConn advances to Indianapolis, just a short drive from Mullins' hometown. The Huskies now have a chance to win their third national championship in four years.