Elite Eight takeaways: Mullins the hero after epic Duke collapse

After an electric finish to the Elite Eight, the Final Four is officially set. theScore highlights key takeaways from the weekend and what the results mean moving into the national semifinals.

Mullins grabs March Madness hero status

Braylon Mullins is likely heading to the NBA after one season in college, but you'll see his image in almost every March Madness montage for the rest of time. The standout freshman put himself into the NCAA history books Sunday with a stunning 36-foot game-winning triple to take down No. 1 Duke and send UConn to the Final Four. It's the first-ever game-winning 3-pointer in the final second of action to send a team to that round.

The outrageous winner capped one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of the NCAA tourney. UConn trailed by 19 points in the first half, 15 at the break, and 11 with 8 minutes left in the contest. Thanks to a swarming defense that forced 3 turnovers in the final 3:45, the Huskies got back into a position to have a shot in the final seconds.

We'll get to the mind-boggling turnover by Duke in the final seconds shortly, but let's focus on Mullins' winner. Yes, he's a projected first-round pick, but neither he - nor UConn - were doing much from beyond the arc. Mullins' last made 3-pointer came at the 16:11 mark of the second half ... in the Sweet 16. He'd gone 56:01 of game action without connecting from deep. The Huskies, as a whole, were 1-for-17 from 3-point range at one point Sunday. So yeah, an unconscious logo triple with a shot at the Final Four on the line wasn't exactly in the cards.

However, that's the magic of March, and Mullins erased every previous miss from his mind and hit the ice-cold winner.

Duke, we've got some questions

Mullins' winner will undoubtedly be what most people remember from this thriller, but every good comeback requires an epic collapse, and Duke was more than willing to oblige. Three turnovers, two missed layups, and a crucial free-throw miss in the last five minutes all made the drama possible, but it's the final sequence that will live on in infamy.

Our investigation asks three questions:

• Why did Cayden Boozer rush to get the ball over half?
• Why did Duke spread its two frontcourt players out on each sideline?
• Why is Dame Sarr - a 50% free-throw shooter - inbounding the ball?

Duke took the ball out with 10 seconds left on the clock, the exact amount of time permitted to get the ball over half. Cayden Boozer - who is the second-best free-throw shooter on the team - could have held the ball waiting to be fouled, but instead opted to rush a pass over a double-team to an open frontcourt teammate. That was mistake No. 1.

The second error saw two Duke players across half essentially standing on opposing sidelines. Spacing is vitally important, but someone needed to react and give Boozer a much closer outlet when he received the ball from Sarr. Sarr's spot on the play also was puzzling given he's one of the worst free-throw shooters on the team.

The collapse saw Duke become the first No. 1 seed to ever lose after leading by at least 15 points, breaking a previous 134-game streak, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.

And now why final question for Duke: Why does this keep happening?

Blue Devils fans might actually be the best group in the country to handle a loss like this given their experience in the matter. This blowup will certainly sting, but it probably isn't on the same level as last year's Final Four loss to Houston. Duke blew a 14-point lead in the final 8 minutes of that contest to fall by three.

Add the last two Blue Devils' regular-season losses as well, and there's a disturbing trend developing under Jon Scheyer's watch.

Michigan is a wagon again

CBS probably should have aired a parental advisory warning for Tennessee fans during Sunday's broadcast. Nobody on Rocky Top needed to be subjected to watching what Michigan did in the opening half of the Elite Eight game.

The Wolverines took any chance of an upset and stuffed it into a locker early, ripping off a 34-10 run to end the half, which built a 22-point edge. The most stunning thing about the performance is that it kind of flattered Tennessee. The Volunteers pulled down 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, leading to 10 second-chance points. That's really the only thing that kept the deficit from being 30 at the break.

But it only got worse for Tennessee in the second as Michigan finished off a 33-point blowout - the biggest in the Elite Eight since 1989.

The Wolverines made earning double-digit victories look incredibly easy all season, a theme that helped them rise to the top spot in the AP Poll. Sixteen of their 19 conference wins came by at least 10 points. However, that dominance dried up in the Big Ten tourney, where Michigan beat Ohio State by four and Wisconsin by three before falling to Purdue in the conference title game. Had the other top teams in the country caught up?

Absolutely not.

The Wolverines' performance in the NCAA Tournament thus far has squashed that notion. They're now flying into the Final Four with a ridiculous 22.5-point average margin of victory over four outings. Michigan is the first team to score at least 90 points in the first four games of a tournament since 1995.

Up next is one of the most anticipated NCAA Tournament games in recent memory: No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona for a spot in the national title game.

Get your popcorn ready.

Elite Eight once again a roadblock for Barnes

With 861 wins in his 39-year career, Rick Barnes is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in college basketball ... just not in the Elite Eight. Barnes' teams making the regional final has become as much a guarantee as anything in the sport, as Tennessee has reached that round each of the last three years. But that's where the fun ends. Michigan's blowout win Sunday makes three straight losses for Tennessee when there's a Final Four berth on the line.

Barnes aiming for the Final Four has become akin to Charlie Brown attempting to kick a football.

The consistent defeats are one thing, but the last two years, Tennessee hasn't even been competitive when the chance to win a region dawns. In 2025, the Volunteers scored just 15 points in the opening half of their Elite Eight matchup with Houston, creating a 19-point deficit. This time out, it was somehow worse, with a 22-point deficit staring them in the face as they retreated to the locker room.

Tennessee once again looked completely unprepared after a quick turnaround and seemed overwhelmed in almost every facet of the game. Its offense made a dreadful 31.8% of its field-goal attempts on the day, with almost zero easy looks to be found. And its defense simply couldn't stop Michigan without fouling, resulting in 37 free-throw attempts for the Wolverines.

Barnes is thriving in the NIL and transfer portal era, and Tennessee has plenty to be excited about in the near future. But that won't lessen the blow of Sunday's shortcomings. If once is random and twice is a coincidence, then the Volunteers' third straight Elite Eight loss is indicative of a troubling trend.

Saturday games

Big bad Illinois owns 2nd half

For as complex as basketball can be, sometimes it just comes down to which team has giants on the court and which doesn't. Brad Underwood unleashed Illinois' giants Saturday, and it led the program to its first Final Four berth since 2005.

Five Illini players saw at least 12 minutes of action in the second half, with the shortest being 6-foot-6 Keaton Wagler. Underwood leaned heavily on his team's size advantage, opting to play Andrej Stojakovic at shooting guard for most of the frame. The result: an outrageous 24-2 edge in points in the paint during that 20-minute session.

Illinois made its last 10 2-point attempts, going the final 14:02 without missing a shot inside the arc. Iowa simply had no answer for the Illini's interior presence.

Wagler shows why he's lottery bound

Wagler might be the sixth or seventh most notable name among this year's elite freshman class, but the Illinois star may end up being the last one standing in the NCAA Tournament. The point guard unleashed his full bag of tricks versus the Hawkeyes as part of a 25-point effort.

Wagler's tight handle and elite outside shooting make for a vicious combo; just ask Iowa's Isaia Howard, who slid about 12 feet on this absurd step-back triple.

Although Wagler is right-handed and likes to predominantly drive on that side of the basket, he's got enough juice going left to keep the defense honest.

The game was a halfcourt battle throughout, as the teams combined for just six fast-break points in the entire contest. Wagler played nearly the whole game, only sitting for a brief two-minute stretch, and he had the ball in his hands virtually every possession. Despite the considerable usage, he turned the ball over just two times.

The win is certainly the most important thing to Wagler, but he surely made some NBA money with Saturday's performance.

Iowa almost did it again

We discussed Iowa's narrow path to victory earlier this week, and somehow Ben McCollum's team almost pulled it off once again. The Hawkeyes' glacial pace ranks 361st out of 365 Division I teams. That's no secret, and every opponent knows that going into the contest. Yet, McCollum consistently puts Iowa in position to dictate games on its own terms. That was the case once again in the opening half versus Illinois.

Yes, the dream may have died in the second half as a result of Illinois' incredibly efficient offense, but you have to applaud the Hawkeyes for making the heavily favored Illini play their way.

McCollum should undoubtedly be mentioned among the top coaches in the country following Iowa's unlikely tournament run in his first season with the team. Its wins over Florida and Nebraska showed that he can maximize his roster as well as anyone.

Expect McCollum to be a staple of March Madness going forward, regardless of who makes up his roster year over year.

Arizona joins paint party

Saturday's paint party wasn't exclusive to the South Region; Arizona joined Illinois in the club with a dominant interior performance of its own versus Purdue. But despite the Wildcats' 40-22 edge in points in the paint eventually resulting in a comfortable victory, it was far from a relaxing evening in the West Region.

An eight-point deficit at halftime of an NCAA Tournament game shouldn't be cause for concern for a program as talented as Arizona. Yet, the Wildcats had never won a tournament game when trailing by more than six at half. Armed with that knowledge, many would have panicked at the 38-31 deficit through 20 minutes Saturday.

Tommy Lloyd was not one of those people. At halftime, the Arizona coach told his players, "We're fine." That proved to be the understatement of the tournament thus far. Like a rocket ship leaving its launch pad, the Wildcats took off in the second half, outscoring Purdue by 22 points en route to their first Final Four since 2001.

Arizona's ability to deliver elite offensive performances without relying on 3-pointers makes it an incredibly tough team to beat in March. On Thursday, the Wildcats exploded for 109 points versus Arkansas despite making just five triples. To put up triple digits in a 40-minute game without more than a handful of 3-pointers is almost unfathomable in modern basketball. Only 20% of Arizona's points on the season have come from deep. That percentage ranks 360th among 365 teams.

Fouls doom Purdue

Fouls are almost always a hot topic around Purdue - especially with the added scrutiny of the NCAA Tournament - and Trey Kaufman-Renn usually plays a part in those conversations. The senior forward is one of the hardest frontcourt players to guard, largely because of his physicality and ability to get calls. He once again earned whistles Saturday, but they mostly went against him as he struggled with Arizona's size.

One of the major turning points in the contest was Kaufman-Renn's disastrous start to the second half. He was called for his third foul while battling for the ball 90 feet from the basket, forcing him to sit down for a four-minute break. An immediate 11-4 run for Arizona ensued.

Kaufman-Renn had to be careful the rest of the way, tiptoeing around potential fouls on the defensive end. While it's unlikely anybody could have stopped the Wildcats' paint attack, the Boilermakers being limited by one of their bigs avoiding contact certainly didn't help.

The senior star played just 23 minutes due to the foul issues, a significant drop from the previous two rounds when he saw 36 and 35 minutes of action, respectively.