Duke goes up big, melts down in second half
WASHINGTON – Duke made things look easy in the first half.
It was never going to be easy.
Connecticut beat Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight on Sunday at Capital One Arena. The Blue Devils led by 15 at halftime and did not trail until the final second.
UConn (33-5) will face 3-seed Illinois, which won the South Region, in next weekend’s Final Four. The other game in Indianapolis will be the other 1-seeds, Arizona and Michigan.
The UConn run was inevitable. The Huskies charged back in the first nine minutes of the second half, scoring 20 points on their first 14 possessions out of the break. Duke was whistled for seven fouls in that stretch; they were called for four in the first half.
The Huskies trimmed things all the way down to two, at 67-65, with Solo Ball’s three-point play at the 3:42 mark.
After Duke steadied things and went up 70-65, UConn got a point from Ball. After a Cameron Boozer turnover, Alex Karaban — previously 1-for-9 — drilled a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.
Boozer scored with 28 seconds left to make it a three-point lead. UConn got a free throw and then disaster struck for Duke.
A turnover near midcourt by Cayden Boozer led to a final-second 3-pointer by Braylon Mullins that won the game.
Duke started this game on fire. The Blue Devils had 22 points on their first 10 possessions. Those included 3-pointers from Isaiah Evans, Dame Sarr and both Boozers.
The main inflection point of the first half came after Duke stretched its lead to 10 for the second time.
UConn answered with its first 3-pointer, off an offensive rebound, and scored after a Duke turnover to make it a 26-21 game.
Duke’s answer was a two-touchdown run.
The Blue Devils went on a 14-0 spurt. They scored on seven straight possessions, with Sarr hitting a second 3-pointer. Cameron Boozer scored five points, all at the free-throw line, and added a vicious block during that surge.
Five 3-pointers in the first 14 minutes of this game tied how many Duke made total against St. John’s and Siena in previous NCAA Tournament games.
Duke didn’t score for the last three minutes of the first half and still led 44-29 at halftime.
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