UConn Upends Duke, 73-72

Sunday, March 29

Washington, D.C.

5:05 p.m.

Duke University

35-3,17-1ACC

UConn

33-5,17-3Big East

UConn

Duke

3/29/2026 7:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Duke fell to UConn, 73-72, in the East Regional Final on Sunday, March 29. Cameron Boozer led the Blue Devils with 27 points and eight rebounds.

The Huskies marched back from a 15-point halftime deficit, and trailed by as many as 19, as they outscored Duke 44-28 in the second half. Braylon Mullins hit a 35-footer with less than one second left to give UConn the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Dame Sarr scored the first points for Duke, laying it in on the Blue Devils' second possession. Cameron Boozer converted a fast-break finger roll after a steal by Cayden Boozer, giving the Blue Devils their first lead, 4-2. Isaiah Evans made the first three-pointer of the game, extending Duke's early lead to 7-2.
A corner triple from Sarr, followed by a layup courtesy of Cameron Boozer, pushed Duke's lead to eight, 14-6. The Blue Devils took their first double-digit lead, 22-12, with a trifecta by Cayden Boozer at the 13:24 mark.
After UConn cut the margin to six, the Blue Devils' defense held the Huskies scoreless for nearly three minutes. Duke remained in front, 28-21, following a steal by Cayden Boozer and subsequent bucket in transition by Nikolas Khamenia.
The Duke lead grew to 14, 35-21, with another Sarr triple with just under seven minutes before halftime. Duke forced nine consecutive misses by the Huskies, while logging its 40th killshot of the season with a 14-0 run, to take a 40-21 lead with less than five minutes before halftime.
The Blue Devil lead stood at 15 after 20 minutes of play, as Duke entered the break with a 44-29 cushion.
The two teams traded buckets in the early phase of the second half, with the Blue Devils taking a 50-33 lead off a Patrick Ngongba II alley-oop dunk.
Eight of the next 11 points went to the Huskies, as Duke's lead remained in double-digits, 53-41, with 14 minutes remaining.
An extended 8-1 scoring run by UConn made it a seven-point contest, 56-49, at the under-12 timeout.
Cameron Boozer stopped the run out of the break with a layup through contact to push him to 21 points.
The two teams traded triples, with Khamenia connecting from the corner for the Blue Devils.
The Huskies pulled within two, 67-65, before Cameron Boozer hit another jumper for a 69-65 Duke lead with 3:22 to play.
Both teams were held scoreless until Ngongba II cashed in a free throw for a 70-65 Blue Devil edge with 1:51 remaining.
A UConn free throw and three left it 70-69 Duke with 50 ticks left. Cameron Boozer's jumper in the paint with 28 seconds left pushed the Blue Devils in front, 72-69.
Silas Demary Jr. missed a free throw with 10 seconds left and made the second for a 72-70 game. A Duke turnover set the stage for Mullins' game-winning heave.

NOTES

Duke ends the 2025-26 season at 35-3, its second consecutive 35-win season.
- The Blue Devils' three losses this season were by a combined five points, with two losses coming on a shot with 0.4 seconds remaining.
- The 70 victories across the last two seasons sets a new program record for combined wins in a two-year stretch.
The Blue Devils move to 6-2 when playing on March 29.
Duke outrebounded the Huskies, 34-28.
- The Blue Devils finished with a positive margin on the glass in 34 games this season.
The Huskies entered Sunday's game averaging 77.2 points per game, but were held to 73, 4.2 points below their season average.
- Duke's defense all but two of its 38 opponents below their scoring average this season.
Duke held an advantage in two specialty stats, leading in second-chance points (16-15) and bench points (13-11).
Duke has now connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,302 straight games, the longest streak nationally.
Cameron Boozer scored 27 points, while also grabbing eight rounds and distributing four assists.
- Boozer is the fifth freshman in the last 25 years to score at least 20 points in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
- Boozer scored in double-figures in all 38 games this season, matching RJ Barrett for most consecutive double-digit scoring games by a Duke freshman.
- Boozer ends the year with 23 games with at least 20 points and reeled in at least five rebounds in all 38 contests.
Cayden Boozer posted 15 points, five rebounds and six assists, while also swiping two steals.
Dame Sarr rounded out Duke's double-digit scoring with 10 points.
- The freshman shot 4-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-3 from deep.

QUOTES

"I could not be more disappointed and feeling for our guys, at the same time of just trying to process what happened. I don't have the words. I don't have the words.What I do know is literally this team, what each individual player went through just to play the game, I've never seen anything like it. What these guys did to have to get ready, their foot injuries, [Cameron Boozer's] got a black eye, he's playing the whole game. I'm incredibly sorry for these guys that they've got to go through this. This is on us. We're going to be in this together. The year that this guy's had has been absolutely incredible, absolutely incredible. I don't have words other than just how proud I am of these guys and how disappointed we are." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.

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