Bill Raftery stunned speechless by Braylon Mullins dagger 3-pointer in NCAA Tournament

One of the signature moments of the 2026 NCAA Tournament nearly took out one of the most legendary broadcasters in the game. Bill Raftery was stunned to silence for several seconds after UConn guard Braylon Mullins nailed a deep 3-pointer to take a 73-72 lead on Duke with 0.4 seconds remaining.

As the play unfolded in front of the announcers, Raftery watched with Grant Hill and Ian Eagle. Eagle had the play-by-play call for TBS.

“(Alex) Karaban, two seconds, Mullins tosses it up,” Eagle said. “Ohhhhhhh!!! It’s good! A three, UConn goes in front. March means drama!”

Bill Raftery was simply stunned. First he turned away from Hill, looking down at a monitor on the table in front of him, as if to verify the bucket had counted.

Then, hand extended, he slowly turned toward Hill. He looked straight in front of him, then to his right. He paused, then realized he had the opportunity to chime in.

“Utterly impossible,” Bill Raftery said. “The deflection, the reaction and the major onions. Out of Indiana, they all can shoot. Nylon from deep. Astounding.”

WE ALMOST LOST BILL RAFTERY pic.twitter.com/vcflTaUWwM

— Bobby Reagan (@BarstoolReags) March 30, 2026

Hill put both hands to his temples, leaning over the table briefly. Then he, too, attempted to process what had just happened.

“The freshman, Braylon Mullins, what a play,” Hill said. “All Duke had to do was hold the ball there. They didn’t need to get rid of it.”

Bill Raftery, starting to come around from the initial state of shock, looked down at the monitor once more. Sure enough, UConn led 73-72 with 0.4 seconds remaining.

The Huskies would hold on to win, becoming the first team to ever knock off a No. 1 seed after facing a 15-point or larger halftime deficit. It was a moment for the ages.

“No backcourt violation, nothing,” Raftery said, pointing out Duke’s fatal flaw once more.