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Cooper Flagg shines in return as Duke coasts to comfortable NCAA Tournament win
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Cooper Flagg might have missed the bulk of the ACC Tournament after rolling his ankle, but he returned to the lineup for Duke to open the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
That game came against Mount St. Mary’s, and Flagg would test things early on. Within the first 2 minutes of the game, Flagg barreled into a tough and-1 layup with the foul sending the Blue Devil star to the floor. Fortunately, he popped up unfazed.
On Thursday, Flagg had said he was anticipating being very close to 100% for the game, and his performance lived up to that prediction. Later in the first half, Flagg went up and delivered an emphatic jam to punctuate his early performance.
At halftime, Duke held a 54-28 lead and was in complete control that one would expect from a 1-seed. Flagg was among the leading scorers at the break with 9 points on 4-for-7 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists in 13 minutes of action.
Unsurprisingly, Duke dialed back Flagg’s minutes after the break with Mount St. Mary’s never threatening in a 93-49 win for the Blue Devils. The freshman sensation appeared in just 9 minutes after the break and finished the game with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting with his traditional well-rounded stat sheet of 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.
It’s the kind of performance fans wanted to see with Flagg playing with his normal elite skill. He also showed no limitations or hesitancy to get physical in the game, a positive sign for the road ahead.
Duke advances to face 9-seed Baylor, a matchup with the Blue Devils opening as an 11.5-point favorite per ESPN Bet. The Blue Devils also headline the best odds to win it all at +270 and don’t forget to track the Final Four odds all tournament long.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
