UConn students celebrate as both basketball teams advance to Final Four

STORRS, CT (WFSB) - UConn’s campus is buzzing after both the men’s and women’s basketball teams advanced to the Final Four on Sunday, putting both programs two wins away from another national championship.

Students gathered throughout Storrs to watch the games. Students can’t stop watching Braylon Mullins’ game-winning three-pointer against Duke. At the UConn bookstore, there aren’t many Mullins jerseys left. Students are grabbing new merchandise, including T-shirts with coaches Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma’s faces on them.

“Seeing Mullins take that shot, it was definitely insane. The experience was a once in a lifetime,” said Ray Mulla, a UConn junior.

UConn was down 19 points before rallying to beat Duke on Mullins’ shot with 0.4 seconds left on the clock.

“It’s March. It’s UConn. Of course it’s going in,” said Yann Pereira, a UConn junior.

Students praised Mullins for the final shot. One student said Mullins saved the season. Another called him a national hero.

“That’s going to go down forever. One of the greatest shots in UConn basketball ever,” a student said.

“Any Dan Hurley-led team can make the national championship, can win it, just because of how he coaches,” said Louis Sabo, a UConn junior. “You see this team this year—they fought through adversity, all of our players missed games, and to see them claw back against Duke, I don’t think there’s anyone that can beat them now.”

Bijan Behzadi, a UConn junior, credited the men’s performance.

“I think teamwork was the key to their victory, and honestly that always pays off in the end,” Behzadi said.

Donna K. of Madison and her husband Steve, married for 35 years, were walking through campus. Donna went to North Carolina, so beating Duke was even sweeter.

“That was the most amazing game we’ve ever seen. 0.4 on the clock, a Hail Mary pass, and making the three-pointer—it was awesome,” she said.

Women’s team advances

The women’s team beat Notre Dame earlier in the day.

Charlotte Lang of Coventry said she expected the outcome.

“I’m not surprised that they’re moving on and winning. I expected them to win, but I think that Notre Dame gave them a good fight at the beginning,” she said.

Historic shot recalls UConn’s past

The shot drew comparisons to another iconic UConn moment. Sam Calhoun, a UConn senior who writes for the student newspaper The Daily Campus, called his grandfather after the game.

“I called him and I was like, ‘Have you ever seen a shot like that?’ and he was like, ‘Yeah—Tate George,’” Calhoun said.

His grandfather is UConn legend Jim Calhoun. Tate George hit a buzzer-beater to defeat Clemson in the 1990 Sweet Sixteen, a shot that helped launch UConn’s basketball dynasty.

“That’s what really kicked everything off,” Sam Calhoun said.

Thirty-six years after Tate George’s shot, Braylon Mullins cemented himself in UConn history.

Sam Calhoun is heading to his seventh Final Four, his first as a student journalist. He will be covering the Huskies’ game against Illinois on Saturday in Indianapolis.

“When it’s UConn in March, there’s never a doubt,” Calhoun said. “Beat a real good Duke team, now let’s go get number seven.”

That would be the seventh national championship for the men’s program, after his grandfather led UConn to its first three.

Both programs chasing history

Students said they remained confident even when the men’s team trailed. One student said they never doubted the team.

Sarah Baio, a UConn senior, said she expected both teams to win in the Final Four.

“I’m expecting them to win. Every single year I’ve been here we just win and win and win. That’s what UConn is about,” Baio said.

Another student said the team earned respect despite its seeding.

“You gotta beware of UConn. Give us that #2 seed. We’re coming for that #1 baby,” the student said.

One student described the atmosphere at the watch party.

“It felt like we were at the game like everyone was so excited,” the student said.

Every year since 2008, either the UConn men or women, or both, have been in the Final Four.

UConn has won 18 combined national championships across both programs. A sweep this year would mark the third time in college basketball history that one school won both the men’s and women’s titles in the same year. UConn did it both previous times, in 2004 and 2014.

“To see the men and women win in the same year would be crazy,” Sabo said.

The men play Illinois on Saturday. The women will play either South Carolina or TCU on Friday.