yahoo - 4/2/2026 8:40:34 PM - GMT (+2 )
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first day or so, Braylon Mullins watched clips of his game-winning 3-pointer over Duke “countless” times.
He didn’t have much of a choice, really. It was all over social media. (Seriously. Go to any platform and search for it.) ESPN pretty much had it on a loop. His teammates were watching it repeatedly.
The last day or so, however, Mullins has been consciously avoiding it.
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“I'm not trying to keep focused on that,” he said Thursday, April 2, after Connecticut’s practice at the Final Four.
“That game was in the past. It wasn't the national championship,” Mullins said. “I know it was a very competitive game, but we’ve got to focus on the next one.”
That’s the message UConn coach Dan Hurley had for his entire team, not just the freshman sensation.
Duke, the overall No. 1 seed, was leading the Huskies by two when Silas Demary Jr. deflected a pass by Cayden Boozer with six seconds left.
Mullins scooped up the ball around halfcourt and dished to Alex Karaban, who gave it right back. Mullins then drained the 35-footer with 0.4 seconds left to beat Duke and send UConn to its third Final Four in four years.
“That moment is over. It's an incredible moment. You'll have that moment the rest of your life. But we came here for rings, not watches,” Hurley said.
OH MY GOODNESS 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2026
UCONN LEADSSSS UNBELIEVABLE #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/IPX2JWiw0b
“Everyone that comes to the Final Four gets a beautiful watch, but only one group is going to get a ring,” he said. “So get off social media, stop injecting the dopamine into your arm and get serious about the preparation and the practice because we don't hang banners for Final Fours at UConn. We hang national championship banners.”
UConn now plays Illinois on Saturday, April 4, in what is also a homecoming for Mullins.
If Mullins isn’t being asked about his shot, he’s being asked about coming back to Indiana, where he was Mr. Basketball last year. No, he doesn’t have advice for his teammates on what to do in Indianapolis. He grew up in Greenfield, which is about 30 minutes east of Lucas Oil Stadium.
He’s never been to an Indianapolis Colts game, but this isn’t his first time at Lucas Oil. He was here for a couple of state high school football championships as well as the Big Ten football title game.
And yes, he’s seen his family. His parents came by the team hotel after UConn arrived.
“It's unbelievable to be in the position I am,” Mullins said. “I think it just makes everything a little sweeter knowing that I’m playing in front of family and friends. I can't wait to see everybody in open practice tomorrow and see everybody at the game.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn's Braylon Mullins hoping for more than Duke video highlight
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