UConn wrote a perfect script, and once again Braylon Mullins was up for the hero role

INDIANAPOLIS — The ultimate hero of UConn’s game-clinching run in its 71-62 Final Four win over Illinois Saturday night inside Lucas Oil Stadium was a familiar one, as freshman phenom Braylon Mullins drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing with 52 seconds left that cemented the outcome.

But the decisive blow from a tight situation late in the game required something from all five starters who were on the field with just over a minute to play as the Huskies advanced to the national title game for the third time in the last four seasons.

“If this moment is going to be set up for me, absolutely,” said Mullins, who was 0 for 5 in the second half. “You have to shoot with confidence, and if that moment presents itself, then we’re going to hit it.”

Therein lies the beauty of Mullins’ place on UConn’s roster. He’s been playing hero lately, and that’s because the entire machine of a Huskies program puts it in place perfectly to play the role.

Illinois had come back from a 14-point deficit to cut UConn’s advantage to just 63-59, and the Illini were one defensive stop away from potentially cutting the Huskies’ lead to one possession for the first time since late in the first half.

Before Mullins put his feet down and sank a memorable follow-up to his heroic Elite Eight game-winner against Duke, four other players did their part.

First, senior forward Alex Karaban hit Illinois’ Kylan Boswell with a sinister pump fake that created an opportunity for a clean look 3-pointer at 1:13. It resonated on the iron, but point guard Silas Demary Jr. battled for the offensive rebound over two taller Illinois players.

Demary, who injured his ankle, then passed the ball safely into the hands of Solomon Ball, who had the presence of mind to pass up a wide-open 2-point look, choosing instead to strip the ball away and run for more time.

The final and most aesthetic sequence of the deciding possession involved center Tarris Reed catching Illinois guard Keaton Wagler on a screen just enough for Mullins to get a clear look. As he shot from the Reed screen, Mullins straightened up and caught a pass from Demary in stride. Then he hit the dagger from beyond the arc that put UConn ahead 66-59 with 52 seconds left.

“We have so much action and it’s hard for a team to get stuck on the move,” Karaban said.

For four seasons, Karaban has become a master at taking down UConn’s complex network of screens to get quality looks. He talked about Mullins’ footwork on the game-clinching shot like a proud uncle.

“He does it better than me,” Karaban said. “I think it took him a while to adjust just to the speed. You have to come off the pins to know if guys are going to sink or if they’re going to chase you. So it’s definitely a high school adjustment and he’s done a great job. But, shoot, he takes the ball away faster than me, so I haven’t taught him anything.”

Demary followed up her huge offensive rebound – which was her ninth rebound of the night – by hitting Mullins right in the heart of her shooting pocket for her seventh assist.

“I think as the year went on and the chemistry got better, I was able to read his feet when he was coming off that screen so he could get into his one-two, and not pass it too early but pass it just in time,” Demary told CBS Sports.

And don’t forget the screener. Reed has been a full-fledged NCAA tournament hero for UConn with monster stat lines. Quality screens are not properly quantified anywhere on a box score. But for the Huskies to be effective in their detailed off-ball actions, they are a necessity. Reed’s name appears nowhere in the official play-by-play documenting the decisive sequence, but the 6-foot-10 bruiser played the role of screener to perfection.

“When it really filters through, no one wants to keep going through that screen over and over again,” Demary said. “So now guys are thinking twice: ‘Should I go through this screen, or should I try to find a way around it?’ I think that’s what allows him to have even more choices.”

Reed led the Huskies in points with 17 and rebounds with 11. Demary led the Huskies in assists. Ball led UConn in +/- with a remarkable plus-19, and Karaban is the anchor of it all as the program’s all-time leader.

Collectively, they created the framework for Mullins’ glorious return to Indianapolis. Collectively, they set the stage Saturday night for the pride of neighboring Greenfield, Indiana, to continue playing the role of hero that no other program could have played as well.

“I wouldn’t want to do this anywhere else,” Mullins said. “I’m so happy with the situation we’re in. This is what the coaching staff has been pushing for, so just to be a part of this moment, it’s a blessing.”