Cooper Flaggs propels No. 1 seed Duke past Arizona and into March Madness Elite Eight
For 29 minutes, Arizona hung around. It matched Duke run for run.It looked like it could play with the top-seeded Blue Devils. Then, in a snap, Cooper Flagg and company ran away and hid, landing the kind of sudden haymaker few teams, if any, in the country can handle. It only took 4:39 of game action for Duke to make it clear the fourth-seeded Wildcats wouldn’t stay with them.
By the end of this 20-5 burst, it led by 15 and a spot in the Elite Eight was all but assured. Of course, Flagg led the way, scoring five points and dishing out four assists in the run, as Duke moved on with a 100-93 victory at Prudential Center.It will meet No.
2 Alabama in a fascinating East Regional final on Saturday. With 46 seconds left in the first half, Arizona pulled even on a Caleb Love 3-pointer.At that point, it felt like Duke had enough.
No more playing around.Kon Knueppel, one of three projected Duke one-and-done lottery picks, hit a 3-pointer and Flagg beat the buzzer with one of his own to send the Blue Devils into the half with momentum. Out of the break, they put the hammer down.Flagg went from scorer to playmaker.
He split a double team to set up Sion James for a wide open 3-pointer.Three times, he drove into the teeth of the Arizona defense and threw successful lobs to Khaman Maluach. Flagg, the presumptive first overall pick in the NBA Draft, was dominant, finishing with 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks.Want to tune into as much March Madness as you can? DIRECTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV both have you covered with every channel you’ll need, plus free trials.He became just the sixth freshman with a game of at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Sweet 16 or later since 1984.
But what has made Duke so tough is there is so much more to them than Flagg.There was the 7-foot-2 Maluach owning the paint, notching 13 points, six rebounds and four blocks, and Knueppel adding 20.
Sion James, a sharpshooting Tulane transfer, chi...