Mullins' Miracle: How does his shot for UConn measure up to other famous ones in March Madness?

WASHINGTON (AP) — A couple of days ago, Braylon Mullins was a UConn freshman whose name carried weight mostly among the true diehards — college basketball junkies and Indiana high school hoops enthusiasts.

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Now he's a part of NCAA Tournament lore. That's what can happen at this time of year.

"One of the most brilliant shooters you'll ever see shoot a basketball made an incredible, legendary March shot," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said.

Mullins'35-footer with 0.4 secondsremaining lifted UConn over Duke 73-72 in the Elite Eight on Sunday, and now that the dust has settled, it's time to evaluate just how legendary — as Hurley put it — this shot was.

The bar for last-second game winners is actually higher in the women's tournament, where North Carolina's Charlotte Smith once madea 3-pointer at the buzzerto win the national title game by one in 1994. And who can forget Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale winning boththe semifinaland finalin 2018 with tiebreaking jumpers?

On the men's side, it's a little more complicated. There are several factors to consider when determining the best of the best.

Time and score

Last-second shot means last-second shot. Michael Jordan'sgame winnerfor North Carolina in the 1982 title game was memorable because of who shot it, but it also left plenty of time for a very ill-fated Georgetown possession at the other end.

Still, Mullins' 3 doesn't lose any luster because there were 0.4 seconds left when it went in. It wasn't literally at the buzzer, but that's close enough.

Sports Reference helpfully compileda databaseof game-winning buzzer-beaters from NCAA Tournament history. The site requires a shot to be in the last 2.0 seconds to make the list — with some leeway for the era before the clock stopped after made baskets at the end. Only game winners are included. Tying the score and forcing overtime, with apologies toKentucky's Otega Oweh, isn't quite in the same category.

Mullins also gets bonus points because if his shot misses, UConn loses. As incredible asKris Jenkins' 3-pointerat the buzzer was when it won Villanova a championship in 2016, the game was tied at the time, so the worst-case scenario for his team was overtime.

Significance of the game

Buzzer-beaters are a big part of what makes March Madness special, but as much as the first couple of rounds create the tournament's charm, it's the second weekend and beyond when the national championship starts to feel within reach. So last-second shots take on added importance.

According to the Sports Reference list, prior to Mullins there were just 16 instances in the men's tournament — in the Sweet 16 or later — in which a team was trailing before winning with a last-second shot:

— Jack Shelton's shot for Oklahoma State to beat Wyoming in the 1949 quarterfinals.

— Pembrook Burrows' tip-in for Jacksonville against Iowa in the 1970 round of 16.

— Richard Washington's shot for UCLA to beat Louisville in the 1975 national semifinal.

— Danny Ainge goingcoast-to-coastfor BYU against Notre Dame in the 1981 round of 16.

— Mike Jones' shot from the perimeter to lift Wichita State over Kansas in the 1981 round of 16.

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— Kevin Gamble's jumper for Iowato beat Oklahomain the 1987 round of 16.

— Keith Smart'sbaseline jumperfor Indiana to beat Syracuse in the 1987 title game. This shot went through the hoop with around 4 seconds left, but a timeout didn't stop the clock until there was 1 second remaining.

— Anderson Hunt's 3-pointer that gave UNLV a one-point win over Arizona in the 1989 round of 16.

— Tate George'sturnaround at the buzzerfor UConn against Clemson in the 1990 round of 16. (Bookmark this one for now.)

— Christian Laettner'sshot at the buzzerfor Duke that beat UConn in the 1990 regional final.

— Laettner again,at the buzzerto beat Kentucky in the 1992 regional final.

— Cameron Dollar's shot for UCLA against Iowa State in the 1997 round of 16.

— Richard Hamilton'sfadeaway at the buzzer— after multiple offensive rebounds — that gave UConn a win over Washington in the 1998 round of 16.

— Chris Chiozza'srunning 3-pointerat the buzzer for Florida that beat Wisconsin in the 2017 round of 16.

— Kyle Guy makingthree consecutive free throwsfor Virginia with 0.6 seconds left to beat Auburn in the 2019 national semifinal.

— Lamont Butler'sjumper at the buzzerfor San Diego State to beat Florida Atlantic in the 2023 national semifinal.

You can see there aren't many 3-pointers on that list — but there are two other UConn players in George and Hamilton. Now Mullins joins them, and his shot came a round later.

Degree of difficulty

Mullins' shot wasn't quite as far as the midcourt heaves by U.S. Reed of Arkansas (1981 second round vs. Louisville) andPaul Jesperson of Northern Iowa(2016 first round against Texas). The more apt comparison, in terms of distance, is with Jalen Suggs'buzzer-beating bank shotfor Gonzaga against UCLA in the 2021 semifinal, although that game was tied before the winning play.

It's also worth considering the difficulty of the entire sequence. George's shot in 1990 required UConn to go the length of the court in 1 second, an impressive throw-catch-shoot sequence in which almost everything had to go perfectly. Baseball draft pick Scott Burrell made the long pass for the Huskies. Duke had 2.1 seconds to set up Laettner in '92, with Grant Hill throwing the ball down the court to him.

The legacy

The reason Laettner's shot in 1992 stood the test of time is because it was the defining moment of a second straight NCAA title run for Duke. And obviously, the game winners by Jenkins and Smart decided national championships on the spot. If UConn doesn't win it all this year, maybe Mullins' 3 falls back to a slightly lower tier, but if the Huskies do prevail in Indianapolis, it'll be their third national title in four years. That's something not even Duke has done before.

And it's only possible because of Mullins' Miracle.

AP March Madness bracket:https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracketand coverage:https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

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Mullins' Miracle: How does his shot for UConn measure up to other famous ones in March Madness?

WASHINGTON (AP) — A couple of days ago, Braylon Mullins was a UConn freshman whose name carried weight mostly among the t...

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Tiger Woods doesn't belong anywhere near the Ryder Cup in 2027

In the wake of hisFriday afternoon wreck and DUI arrest in Florida, Tiger Woods faces massive challenges in both his personal and professional lives. One challenge he shouldn't face: the question of whether he should captain the Ryder Cup team.

Yes, at a time like this, when Woods is facing literal jail time after his arrest on suspicion of DUI, the question ofHow This Will Affect Golfis borderline irrelevant. But it's a critical question nevertheless, because the sway that Woods has held over the sport of golf, and the way that the sport of golf has sheltered Woods, are key factors that led to Friday's rollover accident.

Quite simply, Woods is not fit to spend the next 18 months as the face of the United States Ryder Cup team. Whether you think Woods has disgraced himself, endangered himself, or merely embarrassed himself, the end result is the same. This is a man who should be working on himself and his life, not drawing up potential pairings for a Friday fourball session.

Sure, this upends what had been a long-term succession plan … but that's what wrecks tend to do.

For roughly two decades now, conventional wisdom has held that Woods would eventually become a Ryder Cup captain, as virtually all American and European greats of the game eventually do. (Of course, conventional wisdom also held that Phil Mickelson would one day captain the United States, and that now seems about as likely as you or me getting the call.)

Woods was asked to captain the 2025 team. He declined, citing the demands on his time presented by his role as a leading member of the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council. The job went to Keegan Bradley instead, and, well,we saw how that turned out.

Earlier this year, Woods revealed that the PGA of America had reached out to him about the captaincy, but was characteristically evasive about specifics: "They have asked me for my input on it, and I haven't made my decision yet," hesaid at the Genesis Invitationalin February.

Since then, he's made his decision — or, more accurately, made other decisions that should foreclose this one.

Let's put aside the very real question of whether Woods would even make a good captain from a strategic perspective. Woods played in eight Ryder Cups from 1997 to 2018, amassing an all-time record of 13-21-3. As a member of a team, he was just 9-19-1, and the U.S. as a whole was only 1-7 when he was on the roster. Team sports weren't really Tiger's bag, and "played good golf once" isn't the only barometer for whether a player will transition into being a great captain.

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What does make a great captain? There are two philosophies.

The first is to treat it like a fantasy football team owner, running out pairings of the best players and letting them do their thing, throwing in a little pep talk every now and then via golf cart. This has been the Americans' usual strategy in this century. It's been uneven at best.

The second is to micromanage every element of the Ryder Cup experience, from the order of events to the length of the rough, from the pre-match party schedule to the shampoo in players' rooms. This has been Luke Donald's style, and it's a key reason why the Europeans have throttled the U.S. in so many recent Ryder Cups.

Right now, Woods definitely isn't a fit from an optics perspective and, considering the issues he has outside the ropes, not from a procedural one, either.

The margins for Ryder Cup victory are so slim that the tiniest edges matter. At the celebratory post-Ryder press conference last year, Donald told the story of how he ensured that light from the outside hallway wouldn't shine under players' hotel room doors so that they could get their sleep. Obsessive? Unnecessary? Maybe, but who's to argue with results?

Perhaps Woods could have devoted the necessary time to the American Ryder Cup effort to match Donald's. Perhaps he could have pored over data and statistics, forecasts and catering menus to give the United States the best possible chance of winning on foreign soil. But even before his wreck, it sure didn't seem like Woods had that kind of time.

"I'm trying to figure out what we're trying to do with our tour," Woods said in February. "That's been driving me hours upon hours every day and trying to figure out if I can actually do our team, our Team USA and our players and everyone that's going to be involved in the Ryder Cup, if I can do it justice with my time. Serving on two boards, and what I'm doing for the PGA Tour, I'm trying to figure out if I can actually do this and serve the people that are involved and serve them at an honorable level."

Which brings us back to the second half of the equation: the optics of hiring a clearly struggling Woods as the face of the United States' Ryder Cup endeavors. Regardless of whetherWoods is able to avoid legal recriminations arising from his wreck, the fact remains that this isn't the first time Woods has been in a serious incident involving a motor vehicle. It's a borderline miracle that Woods has only harmed himself — plus a fire hydrant and several vehicles — in his publicly known auto accidents.

Even the most generous reading of Woods' situation is that of a man not fully in control of his own life right now. The best thing the PGA of America could do for Woods would be to remove his name from consideration for the Ryder Cup captaincy and — privately if necessary — encourage him to get the help he needs to get his life back on track. This is the ultimate bigger-than-golf moment, and Woods clearly needs all the help he can get, even if he's not willing to ask for it himself.

Tiger Woods has plenty of opportunities left to captain the United States Ryder Cup team, but 2027 shouldn't be one of them.

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Tiger Woods doesn't belong anywhere near the Ryder Cup in 2027

In the wake of hisFriday afternoon wreck and DUI arrest in Florida, Tiger Woods faces massive challenges in both his pers...

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Bulls waive Jaden Ivey after troubling social media messages

The Chicago Bulls waived fourth-year guard Jaden Ivey on Monday for "conduct detrimental to the team."

The Bulls' decision came shortly after Ivey, the fifth overall selection of the 2022 NBA Draft, published several videos on social media that expressed his disapproval of the league's Pride Month activities from a religious perspective.

Perhaps just as troubling, the 24-year-old guard's tone and cadence in his videos sounded distracted or off-kilter.

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"That the world can proclaim LBGTQ," Ivey said while appearing to be driving a car during one snippet. "Right?"

"They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA, they proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say come, come, uh, come join us for Pride. For Pride Month. To celebrate unrighteousness. They proclaim it. They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness. So how is it that one can't, can't speak righteousness? How are they to say that, uh, you, you, 'Man, this man is crazy.'"

Ivey averaged 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 35.4% from 3-point range in 3 1/2 seasons for the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls acquired the Purdue alum in a trade on Feb. 3, but Ivey appeared in just four games before being shut down due to left knee issues.

--Field Level Media

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Bulls waive Jaden Ivey after troubling social media messages

The Chicago Bulls waived fourth-year guard Jaden Ivey on Monday for "conduct detrimental to the team." ...

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Lawyers for man accused of killing Charlie Kirk ask to delay preliminary hearing

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man charged withkilling conservative activist Charlie Kirkhave asked to delay a preliminary hearing scheduled in May, saying they need time to review an enormous amount of material and a bullet analysis that could contribute to his defense.

Tyler Robinson's defense team said in recent court filings that an analysis from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a federal law enforcement agency, could not conclusively connect a bullet fragment recovered during an autopsy to the rifle found near the scene. The FBI is running additional tests, according to court documents.

The agency's report has been kept private, but attorneys have cited snippets in other public filings that say the results were inconclusive.

The success of a forensic ballistics analysis largely depends on the size and condition of the bullet fragments. Experts are looking for unique, microscopic markings that are left on a bullet as it passes through the gun's barrel. The scratches are like fingerprints in that no two firearms make identical markings.

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The defense said in its motion that it may try to use the analysis to clear Robinson of blame during the preliminary hearing, while prosecutors aim to show they have enough evidence against him to proceed with a trial.

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Robinson, 22, who is charged with aggravated murder in theSept. 10 shootingof the conservative activist on theUtah Valley Universitycampus in Orem. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.

Prosecutors have said DNA consistent with Robinson's was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing and two unfired cartridges. Defense attorneys note that forensic reports indicate multiple people's DNA was found on some items, which they say requires a more complex analysis.

Robinson reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he "had enough of his hatred," prosecutors have said.

Robinson is due back in court April 17 for a hearing on a defense motion toban camerasfrom the courtroom.

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Lawyers for man accused of killing Charlie Kirk ask to delay preliminary hearing

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man charged withkilling conservative activist Charlie Kirkhave asked to delay a prelim...

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Meth-laced hot dogs have twice sickened a family's pups. Police don't know who's responsible or why.

Police in Colorado are investigating after, they say, a family's pooches were sickened by methamphetamine-laced hot dogs placed in their backyard going back months.

Investigators believe someone is targeting the pets in the incidents dating to November, Broomfield policesaid on Facebook. On two of those occasions, the dogs ingested the meth and became sick, police said.

Jillian Frank told NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver that the strange ordeal began when her mother, a vegetarian, found a hot dog on her patio in Broomfield, a city about 18 miles northwest of Denver, and "cracked it open." It contained a crystal-like substance that police said later tested positive for meth.

Frank said the family at the time chalked it up to a random case of animal cruelty.

"She has no enemies or conflict. She doesn't have any neighbor conflicts," Frank said of her mother. "We just kind of assumed this was a random, malicious act of animal cruelty."

But things escalated not too long afterward.

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A second incident was reported roughly a month later, on Dec. 26. Frank said she took her dog, Gable, to the vet after she noticed him acting strangely after he'd eaten something from the yard.

"He won't stop circling, he won't stop panting, he won't lay down," Frank recalled. A test came back positive for meth, she said.

Police said the most recent incident happened March 22. This time it involved Frank's sister, Annalyn, and her dog, Murray.

Annalyn Frank said she took Murray to the vet after she noticed him "just spinning in circles and foaming at the mouth." A urinary test came back positive for meth and the psychedelic MDMA, she said.

Neither the family nor police know why anyone would want to target the dogs. The ordeal has prompted the family to install security cameras around the home, along with high netting along the fence.

The sisters said their mom now plans to move out.

"This was finally her safe space, and it's just been ripped away from her for no reason," Jillian Frank said.

byAdministrator

in

20:34

Meth-laced hot dogs have twice sickened a family's pups. Police don't know who's responsible or why.

Police in Colorado are investigating after, they say, a family's pooches were sickened by methamphetamine-laced hot d...

Read More