Kon Knueppel – Syndication Server

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.

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.

Duke basketball thwarts second-half comeback by Wake Forest

Duke hit the road on Saturday to face Wake Forest. In the end, they walked away with their 13th win in a row, thwarting a comeback attempt.

Despite a big halftime lead, the Duke Blue Devils nearly gave it all away to Wake Forest on the road on Saturday afternoon.

It didn’t matter in the end, though, as No. 2 Duke pulled away in the final minutes for a 63-56 victory to stay undefeated in the ACC.

On the heels of their 12th win in a row, Duke traveled to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest to make it a baker’s dozen. The Demon Deacons had won six in a row themselves heading into the game with no home losses this year.

Duke started the game with the first bucket, courtesy of [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], and the Blue Devils took off from there. By halftime, Duke had built a 13-point lead.

Wake Forest didn’t back down, coming out of half and rallying to a six-point deficit with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The Blue Devils responded with seven straight scoring possessions to keep it out of reach.

Flagg led the way for Duke, scoring 24 points on 50% (8/16) shooting from the field. He was one-for-six from 3-point range, part of a 28.1% (9/32) game for the team, but he hit seven of his nine free-throw attempts. He also added seven rebounds and six assists, a line good enough to overcome his seven turnovers.

Fellow freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] was the second-leading scorer, adding 15 points (5/12 from the field and three-for-seven from three). He had nine rebounds, three assists, and five turnovers as well.

Aside from those two, [autotag]Mason Gillis[/autotag] was the only other player in double figures with 11 points off the bench. Notably, freshman center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] had zero points, three rebounds, and zero assists, playing just 18 minutes.

For Wake Forest, guard Juke Harris led the way with 14 points and five rebounds. Starting guard Hunter Sallis was the only other player in double figures, playing all 40 minutes but scoring just 12 points on 11 shots.

Duke’s next opponent will be on a quick turnaround, facing N.C. State at home on Monday night. The Wolfpack fell to SMU on Saturday, 57-63.

Don’t let Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel overshadow Duke freshman Khaman Maluach

It’s easy to get swept up in Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, but Khaman Maluach might somehow be the most underrated freshman around.

The Duke basketball team is too loaded with freshman talent for each of the first-year starters to get their moment in the sun, but 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] might be the most underrated lottery prospect in the country right now.

It’s hard to label a consensus top-10 draft pick as ‘underrated,’ but it feels apt given how rarely Maluach is the subject of discussion. Even in Duke’s last two games, the former Olympian has put together a pair of double-doubles just for [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] to score 42 points against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] to make six 3-pointers against Miami.

No matter how much attention Maluach gets, however, he’s been instrumental in the Blue Devils finding their offensive groove over the last month.

Duke has scored at least 82 points in five of its last six games, clambering all the way to fourth in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings, and Maluach’s expanded role has been essential to that growth. The center has averaged 23.2 minutes and taken 5.2 shots from the floor per game, notable jumps from his 18.2 minutes and 2.6 attempts in the first 11 games.

His evolution is obvious on tape as well, as his teammates look much more comfortable throwing the ball toward the rim when he’s in the paint. Knueppel, Flagg, and the other ball-handlers seem willing to throw up lobs even when Maluach doesn’t have perfect leverage, relying upon his 9-foot-8 standing reach to make a play on the ball.

His combination of size and speed makes him particularly impossible to stop once he gets the ball in his hands. He often doesn’t even dribble, either plucking the ball out of the air for a dunk or spinning for a short floater. The process results in some insane efficiency as he hasn’t missed multiple shots in a game since November 16. He’s 79.7% from the field this season, and his 149.8 offensive rating laps any other Blue Devil with enough minutes to qualify (Knueppel is second at 129.3).

The end result is a player averaging 11.3 points over Duke’s last 11 games and 14.0 points over the last three.

And that doesn’t even mention the part of his game that makes him a truly elite prospect: his defense.

Maluach’s height and long arms make him an obvious rim protector, averaging 1.1 blocks per game, and his mere presence is a big reason why Duke’s opponents have an effective field goal percentage of 42.6%.

But he sets himself apart from other talented bigs with his speed, which was on full display against Miami. There were several moments in which the Hurricanes switched to drag Maluach out to the perimeter, hoping to sneak a smaller guard around him, and he met the challenge with ease. Miami’s lost 13 of its past 14 games, yes, but that was one of KenPom’s top 50 offenses on the year, and Maluach was a steel trap inside and out.

Flagg is the best player in the country, and Knueppel’s increased consistency from the 3-point line gives Duke a championship ceiling. But if the Blue Devils actually cut down the nets, Maluach will probably be the talent that puts them over the top.

Duke basketball superstar Cooper Flagg has become one of the ACC’s best facilitators

Cooper Flagg didn’t score 42 points again on Tuesday night, but he did something else he’s gotten quite good at: set up his teammates.

Given the standard that freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has already set just 17 games into his collegiate career, it’d be easy for Duke basketball fans to see his 13 points against Miami on Tuesday as underwhelming.

They didn’t have an impact on the game, obviously. The Blue Devils won by 35 points, and fellow five-star freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] was a little busy going six-for-eight from 3-point range. But Flagg had put at least 19 points on the board in seven of Duke’s previous nine games, including an ACC freshman record 42 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish just on Saturday.

Despite all of those numbers, however, Flagg still commandeered the Duke offense to one of its most efficient nights of the season. The Blue Devils’ 89 points tied their third-highest total of the season and their most in ACC play thus far, and a large part of that stemmed from Flagg.

He just did it as a passer. And that should scare the rest of the country far, far more.

Flagg dealt six assists to his teammates, his eighth straight game with multiple dimes, and he’s averaged 5.4 over Duke’s previous five games. Even in that scoring explosion against Notre Dame, he ended up with seven.

Duke’s prized freshman isn’t getting his numbers in the same fashion over and over again, either. He’s become more comfortable tossing lobs to classmate [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] or working with Knueppel in the pick-and-roll game, but he’s adept at finding open teammates on the perimeter if he drives and draws multiple bodies.

But that’s where the problem arises. He always draws multiple bodies because no one can slow him down one-on-one.

Through January 14, Flagg ranks eighth among ACC players with 4.1 assists per game. Of the conference’s nine players averaging at least four per night, he’s the only one producing more than 18 points per game. The Blue Devils knew they were getting a defensive anchor and a dominant athlete during the recruiting process, but the fact that Flagg is also the conference’s best offensive engine is hard to fathom.

To get ahead of one caveat on the box score, Flagg did turn the ball over six times against the Hurricanes. One ill-advised cross-court pass to Mason Gillis looked particularly questionable in real time. But the first-year phenom still has a 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratio, an impressive number for his size profile and usage, and that number has jumped to 1.82 since the start of December.

Head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] said early in the season, particularly after two late turnovers against the Kentucky Wildcats, that Flagg’s high usage rate would pay dividends down the line. Even for the highest expectations, however, Flagg being the team’s best passer sounded ludicrous. And yet it happened.

And he seems to still be getting better.

What are Duke’s chances to go undefeated through the ACC after Tuesday’s Miami win?

With the Duke basketball team now 7-0 against ACC opponents, what are the Blue Devils chances to go 20-0 according to KenPom?

The Duke Blue Devils won their seventh consecutive conference game to start ACC play on Tuesday night, an 89-54 victory over the Miami Hurricanes powered by a 50-point first half.

While Miami, now 4-13 for the season, did not offer the stiffest test on the slate, a 35-point victory is a 35-point victory. Through Tuesday’s games, only four members of the ACC have fewer than two conference losses, and the Blue Devils already took down one of them (Louisville). Duke also already handed Pittsburgh, KenPom’s second-highest ACC team at No. 27, a 29-point loss in their only matchup of the season.

So can [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates genuinely do this thing? Is a 20-0 season attainable in ACC play?

With 13 games left on the schedule (and less than a week removed from an eight-point win over a sub-.500 Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad), the odds-on favorite for that question still has to be no. The math supports that idea as well, with KenPom only giving the Blue Devils a 35.6% chance to sweep the remaining ACC slate despite a massive efficiency advantage.

Only the computers know when that number will jump over 50%, but the February 1 home game against the North Carolina Tar Heels looks like a good day to circle for that. That’ll be the Blue Devils’ 11th ACC game, moving them past the halfway point, and they would have hypothetically beaten a 12-4 Wake Forest team one week earlier.

The Tar Heels won’t be pushovers, either, even with six early losses on the resume. After an early three-game skid, UNC is 7-2 since December 7. Their six losses came against the six best opponents to this point, per KenPom’s database, but they did nearly hand the Florida Gators their first loss of the season last month.

It’s easy to get excited about a potential perfect run, especially with how this Duke team has looked at times. Each of their conference wins have come by at least eight points, and five of them came by more than 20. But let’s revisit this conversation on February 2.

The best Duke basketball photos from Tuesday’s win over the Miami Hurricanes

Check out the best Duke basketball photos from Tuesday’s win over the Miami Hurricanes.

The Miami Hurricanes didn’t stand a chance against the Duke offense on Tuesday, helpless to stop [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] and his teammates in an 89-54 Blue Devils victory.

Knueppel made four 3-pointers in the opening half, part of a six-for-eight day from distance as he scored a career-high 25 points. Three other Duke players reached double-digits for the game, including 13 points from freshman sensation [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double from first-year center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag].

Duke scored 50 points in the first half and made 17 threes as a team at Cameron Indoor Stadium, tied for its most in a single game this season. The Blue Devils finished with more assists (25) than the Hurricanes made field goals (23).

Check out the best photos from Tuesday’s game below.

How many points did Cooper Flagg score against the Miami Hurricanes?

Here’s how Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg performed against the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

Even a talent like [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] needs to share the spotlight sometimes.

Three days after his 42-point game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the 18-year-old forward took more of a backseat to fellow freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] during a Tuesday victory over Miami.

One of the other two five-star freshmen in Duke’s starting lineup, Knueppel scored 18 points in the first half and found his target on six of his eight 3-point looks for a career-high 25. The Blue Devils went 17/32 (53.1%) from behind the arc as a team as five different players made multiple triples, including Flagg.

Even a “down” night for Flagg looks impressive on paper, however, and his final numbers against the Hurricanes are nothing to scoff at. Here’s a recap of his night.

Cooper Flagg points scored vs. Miami:

Flagg scored 13 points against the Hurricanes, making just five of his 11 shots and two of his five 3-point tries. He snagged seven rebounds and six assists, still circling his first triple-double, with a steal added on.

Did Duke win?

Yes, the Blue Devils cruised to an 89-54 victory. Duke has now won 11 straight games with eight of those victories coming by at least 20 points.

Cooper Flagg’s next game:

The Duke Blue Devils will return to the court on Saturday night against Boston College.

Kon Knueppel helps Duke basketball bury Miami with six threes in 35-point blowout

Last time Duke played at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Cooper Flagg put on a one-man show. Against Miami on Tuesday, it was Kon Knueppel’s turn.

The last time Duke basketball fans filed into Cameron Indoor Stadium, freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] put together his magnum opus with a 42-point game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

On Tuesday night against the Miami Hurricanes, it was classmate [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag]’s turn.

The five-star talent from Wisconsin scored a career-high 25 points against Miami, making six of his eight 3-pointers in the 89-54 blowout win.

The Hurricanes limped into Durham in desperate need of a reclamation victory. Miami had lost 12 of its last 13 games for a 4-12 record, and dating back to January 30 of last year, the Hurricanes were just 4-23 before the midweek game. Legendary coach Jim Larrañaga, who led them to the Final Four just two years ago, announced his midseason retirement in the last week of December, another blow to the program.

The Blue Devils, on the other hand, had won each of their last 10 games, and Duke made it pretty clear almost immediately that neither team would change trends on Tuesday.

Knueppel made his first three of the day just three-and-a-half minutes into the game, a corner shot in front of the student section to open up a 9-6 lead. He buried his second less than 90 seconds later, and that one ignited one of the Blue Devils’ best shooting runs of the season.

Purdue transfer Mason Gillis made back-to-back triples on the next two possessions, part of a season-high 12 points for him on four-for-six shooting from distance, but Knueppel stole the show from all his teammates. He founded his mark from behind the arc again with 13:07 left until the half, the fourth of Duke’s six consecutive makes from 3-point range, to put himself in double-digits.

Knueppel worked his way through a particularly porous Miami defense, attacking the rim twice more for four additional points deep into the half, but the Hurricanes kept losing track of him in the corners. He let another 3-pointer rip in the final three minutes of the period, the exclamation mark on an 18-point half, and Miami stunningly gave him another open look in transition just three minutes into the second.

Over Duke’s last six games, Knueppel is averaging 16.7 points and shooting 21/45 (46.7%) from behind the line.

A few other Blue Devils put their best foot forward against the powerless visiting team. [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] ended with 12 points and a career-high 15 boards, his third double-double of the season and second in a row. Sophomore [autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag], after two straight scoreless outings, knocked down two of his three looks from 3-point territory for nine points, tied for his highest single-game total since December 4.

Even with a (relatively) slow second half, the Blue Devils finished 17/32 (53.1%) from the most valuable area on the court, tied for the most triples they’ve made in a single game this season (They also made 17 against Army on November 8). Duke made 54.8% of its overall shots for the game, its sixth straight contest north of 50% as the offense slowly but surely catches up to the defense.

While Flagg only managed 13 points, the freshman sensation did finish with seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

Duke is now 15-2 for the season thanks to its 11th straight win, and eight of those victories have come by more than 20 points. The Blue Devils put that streak to the test again on Saturday with a road game against Boston College.

Four Duke Blue Devils come off the board in Bleacher Report’s new two-round NBA mock draft

Cooper Flagg led four Duke basketball players in a new NBA mock draft from Bleacher Report, including three Blue Devils in the top 11.

The Duke men’s basketball program has churned out first-round NBA draft picks this century, and this year’s roster has no shortage of lottery candidates.

Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] entered the 2024-25 season as the slam-dunk favorite to go first overall, and after his 42-point performance against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, that already seems like a done deal. He turned 18 just three weeks ago, but he’s still averaged 2.9 combined steals and blocks and made 66.7% of his shots (and 64.3% of his 3-pointers) over the last four contests.

Fellow first-year star [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], a 7-foot-2-inch center who already represented South Sudan at the Olympic Games, is coming on strong. He put together 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Irish, his second double-double of the season, and Duke’s increased offensive efficiency pretty directly overlaps with his increased presence as a lob threat and pick-and-roll piece.

[autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag], Duke’s third freshman starter, entered the lottery conversation over the summer, and despite some timid box scores in late November and early December, he’s done enough lately to keep himself there.

Here’s where the three of them (and one of their teammates) ended up in Jonathan Wasserman’s latest mock draft from Bleacher Report.

Cooper Flagg – No. 1 overall (Washington Wizards)

Flagg, whom Wasserman compared to former Blue Devil Jalen Johnson (on the offensive end), has scored at least 19 points in seven of Duke’s last nine games. He’s already notched six double-doubles, and his team-leading 3.9 assists weren’t even part of the selling point out of high school. If his recent run of shooting efficiency is a newfound comfort rather than a simple hot streak, he’s going to rise into some rare tiers of prospects.

Khaman Maluach – No. 8 (Oklahoma City Thunder)

How’s this for shooting efficiency? Maluach is 79.1% from the field this season and hasn’t missed multiple shots in a game since November 16. Most of his offensive production comes within a few feet of the basket, but if the Olympian gets his hands on the ball near the restricted area, it’s almost an automatic two points.

Maluach has flashed more than his height this season. He’s got impressive speed for his frame, helping him amass 1.1 blocks and open up more opportunities thanks to off-ball movement, and he’s unafraid to pull from 3-point range. He’s just one-for-five from behind the arc this year, but the shot looks good, so don’t be stunned if that percentage improves.

Kon Knueppel – No. 11 (Golden State Warriors)

If you told a Duke fan this offseason that Knueppel would average 15.0 points and shoot 40.5% from 3-point range through the first five games of the proper conference schedule, they wouldn’t have blinked. The Wisconsin five-star may not have the expected headlines from when he was seen as a legitimate threat to lead the Blue Devils in scoring, but he’s been every bit of the offensive creator that was promised. A 2.81 assist-to-turnover ratio is just a bonus.

Tyrese Proctor – No. 52 (Orlando Magic)

With three freshmen in the starting five, the Blue Devils needed one of their upperclassmen to take a step forward in big moments, and Proctor met the challenge. The third-year guard is shooting 42.7% from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range, both career highs if they hold, and his 11.1 points and 3.6 rebounds are both personal bests as well. He’s come through in some titanic moments, including a pair of massive threes against the Auburn Tigers, and his efficiency and poise will be essential in the postseason.