Isaiah Evans wanted the ball.
Duke basketball superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] had the ball in transition against the No. 2 Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night, and despite a two-to-one disadvantage in the paint, the best prospect in the country could surely find a way to score. Who would want to take the ball out of his hands?
Evans would.
The North Carolina native started clapping as soon as he crossed halfcourt, and after a moment, Flagg noticed him finding a pocket of space behind the 3-point line.
Evans fired off the shot instantly, and the Cameron Crazies erupted when it rattled through the hoop for his third 3-pointer in two minutes.
Evans made six of his eight 3-point looks in the first 20 minutes for an 18-point night, powering the Blue Devils to an 84-78 victory over the previously undefeated Tigers.
Just like last week’s loss to No. 1 Kansas, the Blue Devils looked entirely outmatched for the first four minutes. Auburn, fresh off a Maui Invitational victory that included wins over the Iowa State Cyclones, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Memphis Tigers, looked ready to pick up right where it left off in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Miles Kelly, a Georgia Tech transfer who helped the Yellow Jackets upset the Blue Devils last December, scored three of the Tigers’ first five baskets of the game, including back-to-back 3-pointers that opened up a 13-2 lead with 16:20 left in the first.
Duke looked physically outmatched and frustrated early on, missing six of its first seven shots. However, just like the Kansas game, the Blue Devils quickly shook off the offensive cobwebs when they started creating transition possessions. After Auburn opened the game five-for-six from the floor, Duke’s top-ranked defense began to clamp down. The Tigers missed eight of their next nine, and with the ensuing rebounds letting the Blue Devils take advantage of their athleticism, Duke began to stack up points.
The best offense over the first 20 minutes came from two unlikely places within the rotation, a pair of North Carolina natives.
Sophomore guard [autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag] started each of the first seven games this season, but after he averaged 8.6 points and made 30.8% of his 3-point tries in 22.4 minutes per game, he ceded his spot in the first five to Tulane transfer Sion James. Despite the demotion on paper, however, Foster made three of his five shots for a nine-point opening half, including a knockdown 3-pointer in the last two minutes.
The hero of the opening half, however, was Evans. The only five-star member of the 2024 recruiting class who didn’t play against Duke’s previous three ranked opponents, Evans checked into the game with 12:40 left before the break.
Within 100 seconds of game time, he’d knocked down a 3-pointer, a smooth catch-and-shoot roller off a screen. Three minutes later, a defensive miscommunication left him wide-open for another triple, and he managed to sneak into the corner for another on the very next possession.
Evans seemed to grow stronger with each progressive triple, calling for that fourth 3-pointer from Flagg less than 90 seconds after the third make. His 18-first-half points helped open up a 43-36 lead at the midway point.
Auburn superstar Johni Broome entered Wednesday night off four consecutive 20-point performances, and after a five-point first half, the 6-foot-10 forward began to shake off the cobwebs after the break. The Tigers managed to scheme him away from Duke forward Maliq Brown, who held Broome just two-for-nine to start the game, and Broome started getting to the basket more frequently. He notched 11 points in the first nine minutes of the half, and Auburn closed within four.
Third-year Duke guard [autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag] knocked down the biggest shots of the night, however. The third-year guard got an open 3-point look in the corner with nine-and-a-half minutes on the clock, but instead of firing up a contested shot, he faked out the closing defender and side-stepped for a wide-open triple that put Duke ahead by seven.
Five minutes later, a late-possession turnover from Flagg spelled disaster for the Blue Devils. The ball rolled around near half-court before Proctor managed to bat it away from the Auburn defense, preventing an easy transition bucket.
With less than one second on the shot clock, Proctor lofted up a 30-footer and somehow connected, a five-point swing to keep the Blue Devils in front 73-68.
Flagg, like he did against the Kentucky Wildcats and Arizona Wildcats, made tough basket after tough basket in the second half. He scored 16 points after the break, including a tough and-one midway through the half to slow down a tough Auburn run.
The superstar 17-year-old ended up with 22 points, his third 20-point performance in four ranked games, on top of 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks.
The Blue Devils, now 6-2 for the season with a pair of quad-one wins, start their ACC schedule on Sunday with a road battle against Louisville.
