LEXINGTON, Ky. — If my social media accounts were representative, Braylon Mullins’ 3-point dagger to give Connecticut an epic 73-72 NCAA Tournament upset of Duke on Sunday set off a bash in the Big Blue Nation.

“I knew I hated @DukeMBB but I didn’t realize how much I hated them until I jumped out of my chair when Mullins hit that shot,” wrote one Kentucky fan.

Added another UK backer: “Kentucky fan here...thank you Braylon Mullins & UConn!!!!!!“

Wrote a third: “Wishing Duke fans 34 years of replays of that shot in every CBS open. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have the Laettner shot 5 million times.”

Clearly Christian Laettner’s 1992 NCAA Tournament buzzer beater that defeated Kentucky 104-103 in overtime and denied the Cats a trip to the Final Four left an enduring imprint on the sports psyche of the commonwealth.

Having watched replays of “The Shot” during March Madness television coverage for 34 years now has kept the Laettner wound open for many UK backers. That has perhaps had a distorting effect on our state’s sports perspective.

In cheering UConn’s success over Duke, Kentucky supporters were backing a men’s basketball program that has done far more damage to UK on the court and is a far greater threat to Kentucky’s historical standing in the sport than the Dookies have yet managed to be.

In head-to-head competition, Connecticut has just flat had Kentucky’s number.

Where UK and Duke have not met in a NCAA Tournament contest in the 21st Century, UConn and the Cats have played three times in March Madness so far in the current century — and the Huskies have won them all.

In 2006, in a round of 32 matchup, Jim Calhoun’s Huskies eliminated Tubby Smith’s Wildcats 87-83. Given that UConn was a No. 1 seed and UK a No. 8 seed that finished with 13 losses, that particular defeat was neither surprising nor especially painful.

However, the two subsequent UConn vanquishings of UK in the NCAA Tournament have been consequential.

A national semifinal matchup between John Calipari’s Cats and Calhoun’s Connecticut in 2011 ended in a 56-55 victory for the Huskies.

Had Kentucky prevailed, I believe it would have proceeded to do exactly what UConn did in the 2011 national title game, which is decisively beat Butler. So the 2011 loss to Connecticut likely denied UK an NCAA title.

Unquestionably, Kentucky’s 60-54 loss to Connecticut and then-second-year head man Kevin Ollie in the 2014 NCAA Tournament finals cost UK a national championship.

Were it not for UConn, Kentucky likely would have at least 10 men’s basketball NCAA championships and be breathing down the neck of UCLA’s 11 all-time titles.

Had UK won two additional national championships under its previous coach, the entire John Calipari era would be viewed differently — and would almost certainly be ongoing.

Making Kentucky’s two Final Four defeats to UConn especially galling for the Big Blue Nation is that both could be attributed to a persistent Calipari-era UK basketball bugagoo.

In the one-point loss to the Huskies in the 2011 national semifinals, Kentucky shot 4 of 12 from the foul line.

While falling by six to UConn in the 2014 national championship game, UK went 13 of 24 on free throws.

In the bigger picture, Connecticut is becoming a threat to one of Kentucky’s most historically resonant rankings.

Coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies (33-5) will enter Saturday’s Final Four contest with Illinois (28-8) only two wins from the school’s seventh men’s basketball national title — all since 1999.

UConn is closer to tying Kentucky’s eight NCAA titles for second on the list of teams with the most men’s basketball national championships than UK is to catching UCLA for first.

Just based on NCAA Tournament results, it’s hard to argue against UConn as the premier men’s college basketball program of the first quarter-plus of the 21st Century.

With this season’s results included, you will find Connecticut tied atop the list of teams with the most Final Four appearances since 2000:

— Connecticut: seven

— Michigan State: seven

— North Carolina: seven

— Duke: six

— Kansas: six on-the-court. (Officially, the Jayhawks have five Final Fours since 2000 after the NCAA vacated their trip to the 2018 national semifinals due to rules violations)

— Florida: five

As for the list of the most NCAA men’s hoops championships won since 2000, UConn is dominating that race:

— Connecticut: five (2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024)

— Duke: three (2001, 2010, 2015)

— Florida: three (2006, 2007, 2025)

— North Carolina: three (2005, 2009, 2017)

— Kansas: two (2008, 2022)

— Villanova: two (2016, 2018)

While the winner of Saturday’s Final Four battle of the Titans between Arizona (36-2) and Michigan (35-3) will be the favorite to cut down the nets Monday night, UConn’s history of maximizing its national championship opportunities makes the Huskies hard to overlook.

In seven prior trips to the men’s Final Four, UConn has won the national title six times.

That extreme historical efficiency is why UK fans who rooted so ardently for Connecticut to oust Duke (with its measly five NCAA titles) may have made a risky bet.

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