St. John’s coach Rick Pitino grabs attention with take on UConn-Duke ending

On Sunday evening, UConn and Duke faced off in the Elite Eight in a game that would have a classic finish. Just days prior, St. John’s had been eliminated in the Sweet 16 by Duke, sending head coach Rick Pitino to watch the next round of March Madness at home.

Pitino was clearly watching the game on Sunday evening, even posting about it on X, formerly Twitter.

“The second half of that Uconn vs Duke game is why college basketball is the Best sport,” Pitino posted.

It was an all-time great finish between UConn and Duke in the Elite Eight. Duke held a commanding lead heading into the second half, leading 44-29. UConn did not back down, though. They got the game back within ten points with still 12 minutes left to go in the contest. They then cut the lead to just three with 3:42 left to go, as Solo Ball made a driving layup.

With just under a minute to go, Alex Karaban hit a three to make it a one-point game, but Cameron Boozer answered. UConn drove to try to make it a one-point game, but Silas Demary Jr. was fouled on the attempt. After missing the first free throw, Demary hit the second, making it a two-point game with ten seconds left.

Cayden Boozer made a bad pass that was tipped and stolen by Demary. The ball then found Braylon Mullins, who hit the 35-foot three-pointer to win the game.

OH MY GOODNESS

UCONN LEADSSSS UNBELIEVABLE #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IPX2JWiw0b

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2026

Adding to the excitement of the moment, and also showing why Pitino is right, it was 36 years ago in the 1990 Elite Eight that Christian Laettner hit a game-winning shot against UConn to send Duke to the Final Four, according to ESPN.

This time, the game winner was from UConn. Now, UConn will face Illinois at 6:09 pm ET in Indianapolis in the first of the two Final Four contests.

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