No Cooper Flagg, no downside.
On Saturday, Related Press No. 1 Duke (31-3, 19-1 in ACC) capped a dominant ACC season by profitable the convention match, defeating No. 13 Louisville (27-7, 18-2 in ACC), 73-62.
The win was notably noteworthy contemplating the Blue Devils have been with out potential Picket Award winner Flagg, who suffered an ankle injury in Duke’s quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech.
Duke, successfully assured to be a No. 1 seed when the NCAA Event bracket is revealed on Sunday night, got here again from a five-point halftime deficit to win its twenty third ACC Event title, outscoring Louisville 40-24 within the second half. The Blue Devils restricted the Cardinals to 9-of-35 on area targets after halftime, together with 2-of-14 from past the arc.
The 2024-25 third-team All-ACC junior guard Tyrese Proctor led Duke with 19 factors, with all six of his area targets coming from lengthy vary. Second-team All-ACC freshman guard Kon Knueppel added 18 factors and eight rebounds, whereas switch fifth-year senior guard and 2024-25 ACC All-Protection workforce member Sion James had 15 factors.
Earlier on Saturday, Duke followers breathed a sigh of reduction when NCAA senior vice chairman of basketball Dan Gavitt informed CBS that Duke and the ACC had knowledgeable the NCAA that excellent freshman ahead Flagg could be out there for the NCAA Event. (h/t Yahoo Sports)
Saturday night’s ACC Championship Sport win was a reminder of the form of expertise Flagg might be returning to and an indication that Duke will not must rely solely on the seemingly No. 1 general choose of the 2025 NBA Draft to win its sixth nationwide title.
Flagg leads the Blue Devils in a number of key statistical classes, together with factors (18.9), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.1), blocks (1.3) and steals (1.5) per sport.
As formidable as Duke is with Flagg, Saturday confirmed that it is fairly good with out him, too.
That is an issue for the remainder of the NCAA Event area.
