Tag: Cooper Flagg

UNC-Duke tabbed Game of the Week by famed college basketball analyst

UNC-Duke is the college basketball game to watch this week.

No matter the year, talent on each team or how each rival is progressing throughout their respective seasons, the North Carolina–Duke basketball rivalry never fails to disappoint.

UNC swept its hated Blue Devils in 2024, en route to an ACC Regular Season Championship and appearance in the ACC Championship Game. Duke got the last laugh, advancing to the Elite 8, but the Tar Heels have bragging rights from winning both head-to-head matchups.

As the college basketball world would have it, North Carolina and Duke are playing again on Saturday, February 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) look every bit of a National Championship contender, while UNC’s NCAA Tournament hopes are on life support.

Despite the direction of each program’s season, UNC-Duke was named college basketball analyst Andy Katz’ Game of the Week.

There’s a few other watch-worthy matchups on Katz’ Top 10 list, such as Florida–Tennessee and Kentucky-Ole Miss, but none that create the hype the Tobacco Road Rivalry can.

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Tar Heels fans almost had the opportunity to celebrate on Monday night, with NC State putting a scare into the Blue Devils, but superstar Cooper Flagg took over.

In North Carolina’s season of unpredictables, it stormed back and escaped Boston College in overtime Saturday, 102-96. RJ Davis put UNC on his back, scoring seven of his 22 points in the extra time period, while the Tar Heels generated some rare, defensive stops.

Duke hasn’t lost a game since November (I hope I’m summoning the writer’s jinx), when Kansas won, 75-72, in the Vegas Showdown.

We’re hoping North Carolina keeps Saturday’s showdown close, but don’t be surprised if the Blue Devils end things early.

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Duke basketball stays a No. 1 seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology projection

The Duke Blue Devils, now riding a 14-game win streak, are still a top seed in the latest Bracketology projection from Joe Lunardi.

The Duke Blue Devils found a way against the NC State Wolfpack on Monday, their second consecutive second-half sweat against an in-state rival. With an 18-2 record after 14 victories in a row, the team from Durham still looks like an inevitable No. 1 seed in the upcoming postseason bracket.

In a Tuesday update from ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi, the Blue Devils occupied the top spot in his East region. The Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Iowa State Cyclones occupied the other three No. 1 spots with Auburn listed as the top overall seed.

Lunardi pitted Duke against the Marist Red Foxes in the opening round. The hypothetical East region Lunardi put together could result in some fascinating matchups. The two-time defending national champion Connecticut Huskies could await the Blue Devils in the second game as the No. 8 seed, and the Michigan Wolverines could reignite some old rivalries as the No. 5 seed.

The Florida Gators, Michigan State Spartans, and Mississippi State Bulldogs took the top four seeds in the region.

Four other ACC teams found a spot in Lunardi’s bracket: the Louisville Cardinals (No. 6 in the West), Clemson Tigers (No. 7 in the South), Pittsburgh Panthers (No. 10 in the East), North Carolina Tar Heels (First Four)

Duke basketball drops to third in NET rankings despite Monday win over NC State

The Duke Blue Devils won their 14th consecutive game on Monday, but they still slipped down a spot in the NET rankings.

The Duke men’s basketball team won, albeit in a slightly ugly fashion, on Monday night. The 74-64 home victory over NC State included a 19-0 run around the halftime break, helping to overcome an early 35-22 deficit, to give the Blue Devils their 14th consecutive win.

However, as of Tuesday morning, head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team dropped from second to third in the men’s basketball NET rankings.

The Blue Devils have battled back an upset scare in two straight games now, letting Wake Forest start the second half on a 23-4 run to build a six-point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock on Saturday. Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 24 points against the Demon Deacons and 28 more against NC State to save both games.

The Houston Cougars, who came back to beat the Kansas Jayhawks in thrilling fashion on the road on Saturday, jumped above the Blue Devils with their second Quad 1 victory. Houston, despite a perfect 4-0 road record, has also lost three Quad 1 games while the Blue Devils are 5-2 against top-tier opponents, but the Cougars have five Quad 2 triumphs to Duke’s two.

The Cougars and Blue Devils are both still staring up at the Auburn Tigers with their 11 Quad 1 victories and 18-1 record.

Where is Duke basketball in the ESPN BPI rankings after Monday’s win over NC State?

See where the Duke Blue Devils are in the ESPN Basketball Powder Index after Monday’s victory over the NC State Wolfpack.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] saved the day for Duke men’s basketball again on Monday night, scoring 23 of his 28 points after halftime in a comeback victory over the NC State Wolfpack. After another upset scare against an unranked in-state rival, however, the Blue Devils couldn’t quite grab the top spot in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

As of Tuesday morning, the Blue Devils are second in the ESPN metrics behind the Houston Cougars.

Monday’s win required a 13-point comeback over the final 24 minutes just two days after Duke coughed up a 13-point halftime lead to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. The Blue Devils overcame a six-point hole in the final ten minutes against the Demon Deacons to remain undefeated in conference play.

While Duke’s 14-game win streak leads all programs, the Cougars have won 12 consecutive games. Two of Houston’s three losses came in overtime back in November, and head coach Kelvin Sampson’s teams always lead the nation in defensive ratings. The Cougars and Tennessee Volunteers are the only two teams above Duke in ESPN’s defensive power index, and those three are the only power-conference programs allowing fewer than 60 points per game.

The Auburn Tigers, Volunteers, and Iowa State Cyclones followed Duke to complete ESPN’s top five.

Duke basketball drops two spots in KenPom rankings after second straight close call

The Duke Blue Devils flirted with an upset loss for the second straight game on Monday, and the KenPom rankings knocked them for it.

The Duke Blue Devils won their 14th straight game on Monday night, a home victory over the NC State Wolfpack to partially avenge last year’s Elite Eight loss, but it admittedly wasn’t the team’s prettiest game.

The 9-10 Wolfpack built a 13-point midway through the opening half thanks to an 8/30 (26.7%) start from the floor by the Blue Devils. Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] still put 28 points on the board in the victory, but the KenPom efficiency metrics no longer consider Duke the best team in the nation.

As of Tuesday morning, the Blue Devils sit No. 3 in the rankings behind the Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars. The margins are still narrow with those three teams, separated by 0.66 points per 100 possessions, but Duke now trails the other two.

All three have won at least 11 straight games with no losses between them since December 4, and the gap between the Blue Devils and the fourth-ranked Florida Gators is larger than the gap between Florida and the Alabama Crimson Tide in ninth.

With back-to-back games below 75 points, Duke slipped back to seventh in the offensive efficiency metrics with 122.9 points per 100 possessions. The Blue Devils still sit third on the defensive end, allowing 87.6 points, and they’re still the only team within the top nine in both categories.

When’s the last time Duke basketball won its first 10 ACC games in a single season?

The Duke basketball team clinched a 10-0 start in conference play on Monday night. When’s the last time the Blue Devils pulled that off?

The Duke men’s basketball team won its 14th straight game on Monday night, a hard-fought 74-64 victory over the NC State Wolfpack. More importantly, however, the Blue Devils kept their perfect conference record with a 10-0 start in ACC play, something the program hasn’t done in nearly two decades.

Duke’s most recent 10-0 record against conference opponents came in 2007-08, head coach Jon Scheyer’s sophomore season. Believe it or not, that was actually the third time the Blue Devils won their first 10 ACC games in five seasons, matching that number in 2003-04 and 2005-06.

Legendary head coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] won the regular-season conference title in each of those first two campaigns, but the North Carolina Tar Heels surged past them for the 2007-08 ACC crown with a 14-2 conference record.

On an unfortunately pessimistic note, none of Duke’s last five 10-0 conference starts resulted in a national championship. But none of those teams had freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], either, so there’s a first time for everything.

The best Duke basketball photos from Monday’s win over NC State

Check out the best photos from Monday’s Duke basketball victory over the NC State Wolfpack.

The Duke Blue Devils nearly let their lengthy win streak crumble away on Monday night, falling behind the NC State Wolfpack by 13 points in a first half that surely brought up bad memories from last year’s postseason.

Instead, freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 23 points in the second half to spark a 19-0 run around the intermission. He, fellow freshman Kon Knueppel, and veteran guard Sion James combined for 60 points, and the Blue Devils outscored their in-state rivals by 23 points over the final 24 minutes for a 14th straight victory.

Despite two second-half sweats in three days after Saturday’s game against Wake Forest, Duke clinched its first 10-0 start in conference play since the 2007-08 season.

Check out the best photos from Saturday’s rivalry victory below.

How many points did Cooper Flagg score against the NC State Wolfpack?

Here’s how Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg performed against the NC State Wolfpack.

The Duke Blue Devils narrowly avoided an in-state upset again on Monday night, holding off the NC State Wolfpack after trailing by 13 points in the opening half, and freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] saved the day again.

Flagg only scored five points in the first half, relying on a trio of 3-pointers from fellow freshman Kon Knueppel to keep the Blue Devils in striking distance. After the break, however, he looked like the best player in the country.

The 6-foot-9 forward threw down a transition dunk a few minutes into the second half, part of a 19-0 Duke run around the intermission, and he knocked down a 3-pointer (through a foul) and a long mid-range jumper on back-to-back possessions with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Here’s a full recap of his impressive evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Cooper Flagg points scored vs. NC State:

Flagg finished with 28 points, 23 of which came after halftime, after he went 8/17 (47.1%) from the floor and 11/13 (84.6%) from the 3-point line. He grabbed seven rebounds and dished three assists, racking up a block and a steal apiece on defense.

Did Duke win?

Yes, the Blue Devils won 74-64 thanks to Flagg’s second-half heroics. He, Knueppel, and Sion James combined for all but 14 of the team’s points.

Cooper Flagg’s next game:

The Duke Blue Devils will return to his home court for a Saturday game against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Cooper Flagg takes over in the second half to avoid Duke basketball upset against NC State

For the second time in three days, an in-state rival threatened to end Duke’s win streak, but Cooper Flagg once again put a stop to it.

The Duke Blue Devils found themselves sweating out a second-half upset effort against an in-state rival for the second time in three days on Monday night, but freshman sensation [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] played the hero once again with 23 second-half points for a 74-64 victory over NC State.

The Wolfpack came to Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 9-10 record, making the task of beating the 17-2 Blue Devils sound impossible, but they also bounced Duke from the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament last postseason. So, of course, NC State came to play in Durham.

NC State made just 30.5% of their 3-pointers in its first 19 games, entering the week outside of the top 100 in KenPom’s offensive and defensive efficiency rankings. Naturally, the Wolfpack promptly made seven of their first 11 3-pointers to take a stunning 35-22 lead.

Duke managed just 63 points against Wake Forest on Saturday, its lowest output of the season, and the offensive struggles continued within the friendly confines of Cameron. The Blue Devils went through two streaks of eight straight misses and two more stretches of four straight whiffs in the opening half, starting just 8/30 (26.7%) from the field.

Flagg scored 24 points against the Demon Deacons, but the Wolfpack held him entirely in check before the break. A trio of 3-pointers from [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] helped make it a four-point game at the break, but the 6-foot-9 superstar returned to the locker room with just five points after he went two-for-seven from the floor.

Then, as he’s done over and over again, the future No. 1 overall pick decided to remind everyone in the building who he was.

Flagg tied the game with a layup a few minutes into the frame, but his true sparkplug moment came with a little more than 16 minutes to play. NC State’s Dennis Parker Jr. tried desperately to save a loose ball, tossing it behind him blindly to a wide-open Flagg. The Duke forward made it coast-to-coast in just five dribbles before taking flight from just inside the free-throw line, slamming home a two-handed dunk to give the Blue Devils a 41-37 advantage.

The dunk highlighted his eight points in the first six minutes of the half, helping the Blue Devils to a 19-0 run as the Wolfpack went scoreless for 8:12 of game time.

NC State pulled back within two points with 10:04 left on the clock, but Flagg connected on a 3-pointer through a whistle for another volt of electricity. One possession later, he sent Wolfpack guard Marcus Hill stumbling to the court on a crossover before knocking down a long midrange jumper.

Flagg ended the game with a team-leading 28 points, going 8/17 (47.1%) from the field and 11/13 from the free-throw line. He, Kon Knueppel (19), and Sion James (13) combined for 60 of the Blue Devils’ 74 points.

Duke’s second-half defense deserves its flowers as well. The Blue Devils held NC State to 32.1% (9/28) from the field and 30% (3/10) from distance after the break, a major swing from the 48.4%/58.3% splits in the opening frame.

The Blue Devils get close to a full week off before their next home game, a Saturday battle against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Cooper Flagg splits ACC Rookie of the Week with California star

Cooper Flagg picked up his eighth ACC Rookie of the Week honor (and fourth in a row) on Monday, splitting it with a Cal star.

For the eighth time this season and the fourth straight week, Duke basketball sensation [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has been honored as the ACC Rookie of the Week.

Flagg and California Golden Bears guard Jeremiah Wilkinson split the award on Monday, meaning Flagg has been at least a Co-Rookie of the Week in all but four of the nomination cycles.

Flagg scored 24 points in a road victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday, Duke’s only game of the week. He made eight of his 16 shots from the floor, helping Duke overcome a six-point deficit in the final 10 minutes, and he tallied seven rebounds and six assists.

The 18-year-old forward has scored at least 20 points in eight of the Blue Devils’ last 12 games, including seven of the last nine. He’s averaged 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks to lead the team in every category.

Wilkinson, for his half of the award, averaged 24.0 points per game as the Golden Bears swept the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes.