WASHINGTON — UConn freshman Braylon Mullins missed his first four 3-point attempts on Sunday, but on his fifth try, he made one of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament history.

Mullins sank a 35-foot shot with 0.4 seconds remaining, giving No. 2 seed UConn a miraculous 73-72 comeback victory over No. 1 Duke and sending the Huskies to their third Final Four in four years.

"Yeah, still at a loss for words. Still processing all of what just happened," Mullins said. "Man, I'm just happy that was the one that went down tonight."

The shot marked the first time UConn (33-5) led in the East Region final since 2-0, coming after the Huskies opted not to foul on a Duke inbound play with 10 seconds left. Duke (35-3) nearly made it past halfcourt before Silas Demary Jr. deflected Cayden Boozer’s pass, and Alex Karaban fed Mullins, who squared his feet and let the shot fly.

Mullins, a McDonald’s All-America selection from Greenfield-Central High School in Indiana, will return to his home state for the Final Four.

"When I saw him release it, I was like, ‘That really might go in,’" Karaban said. "It went in, and the Indiana kid sent us to Indianapolis."

Tarris Reed Jr. led UConn with 26 points and finished a rebound shy of a third tournament double-double, helping the Huskies stay in the game despite struggling from beyond the arc. UConn finished just 5 of 23 (21.7%) on 3-pointers, hitting only 1 of their first 18 attempts, yet still snapped the nation’s longest active winning streak at 14 games.

"What the hell did you just say, 1 for 18?" UConn coach Dan Hurley said, covering his face in disbelief during the postgame press conference. "I knew it was bad. I kept asking the assistant coaches, and no one would tell me what it was."

Demary finished with 11 points, while Solo Ball and Mullins each scored 10. UConn remains in contention for a third national title under Hurley and a seventh overall.

"It’s been a season where we’ve had to overcome injuries to key players at critical times," Hurley said. "This game was a microcosm of that. We fought, we clawed, and took advantage of a mistake they made. And one of the most brilliant shooters you’ll ever see made an incredible, legendary March shot."

UConn will face No. 3 seed Illinois, which defeated No. 9 Iowa 71-59 in the South Region final on Saturday, in Saturday’s early game.

For Duke, Cameron Boozer scored 27 points with eight rebounds in what is likely his final collegiate game, while his freshman twin, Cayden Boozer, finished with 15 points and six assists before committing a critical turnover. Dame Sarr added 10 points.

Coach Jon Scheyer, in his fourth season as Mike Krzyzewski’s successor, came up a game short of back-to-back Final Four appearances.

"We just gave them easy baskets," Scheyer said. "We had to secure the ball better, and that’s how you end up in this situation."

Karaban sparked UConn’s game-winning 8-2 stretch by sinking his only 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Mullins’ legendary shot.

"I think we were all just trying to get the ball out of whoever had it and make a play," Mullins said. "Silas made an incredible play, and everything else just happened."

UConn chipped away at the early 19-point deficit in stages, cutting it to 15 by halftime, then using an 8-1 run to get within seven. After Duke restored a double-digit lead, a 10-2 UConn run closed it to 67-65 when Solo Ball completed a three-point play with 3:42 remaining.

— Ian Quillen, Field Level Media/Reuters