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Duke Eliminated in Shocking Fashion

When the tournament started two weeks ago, it looked like there would be a good possibility that we could have a repeat of last year with all number one seeds advancing to the Final Four.

Three days into it, the defending champs, the Florida Gators squashed that notion as they were upset by ninth seeded Iowa. When the Elite Eight came around the other #1's were all sitting pretty and it looked to be a chalk heavy Saturday.

That was until the shocking late game heroics by Connecticut sent Duke home in surprising fashion. The Blue Devils built a 19-point lead and the outcome never seemed in doubt until the final seconds. With Duke clinging to a 3-point lead, Silas Demary made one of two free throws for the Huskies with :10 to play. A key substitution by UConn head coach, Danny Hurley before Demary made the second free throw was the difference.

Hurley inserted freshmen Braylon Mullins back into the game. Mullins who is Connecticut's best three-point shooter, was in the right place at the right time. Duke inbounded the ball and were just trying to play keep away but Cayden Boozer's pass was deflected near midcourt by Demary and the ball ended up back in the hands of Mullins who got a pass from Alex Caravan. The senior passed up the shot and trusted Mullins, who swished the ball in from 35 feet away to give the Huskies the improbable win.

It was a demoralizing loss for Duke who were the #1 overall seed. Being outscored 44-28 in the second half, it was Deja vu for the Blue Devils whose season ended last year when they blew a six-point lead in the final 1:14 in the National Semifinal to Houston. This was eerily similar.

UConn will face Illinois who rolled over Tennessee in the Elite Eight. Michigan and Arizona the other two number one seeds each advanced the Final with blowout victories in their respective matchups and will face off against each other in the other semifinal.