The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the parents, fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 are taking place in 4 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from DC with the Elite 8 game between UConn and Duke.
All the famous alumni were ready including 2006 UConn All-American Rudy Gay, 2024 UConn national champ Cam Spencer, and Duke Hall of Famer Grant Hill (who knows a little something about game-winning shots in an Elite 8: #foreshadowing!):
Both bands were ready:
Even UConn assistant coach Luke Murray’s famous father was ready:
Let’s tip off a battle of bluebloods for the final spot in the Final 4:
Duke used a nice balanced scoring effort to take control for most of the 1st half, but Tarris Reed Jr. kept UConn in it by scoring 12 of their 1st 16 PTS on 5-7 FG. However, the Boozer twins (Cameron/Cayden) kept pouring it on and combined for 27 PTS/8 REB/5 AST/2 STL/2 BLK to give the Blue Devils a seemingly insurmountable 44-29 halftime lead. I missed most of the 2nd half after interviewing not 1/not 2/but THREE Duke dads during intermission…and apparently Braylon Mullins made an important shot in the final second to win the game or something:
www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketball/comments/1s7amux/full_sequence_of_2_uconn_g_braylon_mullins/?rdt=62735
Here is the trophy that both teams fought so hard for (not pictured: the staff who were prepared to bring the Duke East Regional championship hats/shirts out to the court SPRINTING back to the storage room to get the UConn gear instead!):
I cannot even begin to imagine what was going through the mind of Carlos Boozer as the thrill of victory for his twin sons turned into the agony of defeat in a split-second:
I can absolutely imagine what was going through the mind of Dan Hurley because much like my own reaction to the exhilarating ending, he could not believe his own eyes:
That is a wrap for tonight but check back tomorrow to check out my best photos from the UConn celebration!
