Cooper Flagg, Duke men’s basketball close in on title

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Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2) cuts a piece of the net after Duke defeated Alabama in an Elite Eight game Saturday in Newark, N.J. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Cooper Flagg’s freshman year of high school at Nokomis ended in a championship. His freshman year of college is two wins away from ending in the same fashion.

Flagg and the Duke men’s basketball team are in the Final Four following wins over Arizona and Alabama, the first of which featured a performance that dazzled a national audience and may have just been the most complete and impressive effort of his career, and which set the stage for his being named the regional tournament’s MVP.

Now the Newport native can lift the No. 1 Blue Devils to their first title in 10 years. Houston is up next in the semifinals Saturday, and a win would pit Duke against either Florida or Auburn on Monday with the national championship at stake.

If there was still anyone needing convincing about Flagg, the likely Wooden Award winner and No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, watching the freshman in action Thursday may have done the trick.

Flagg starred in a 100-93 victory over fourth seed Arizona, scoring 30 points while dishing out seven assists, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots. It happened in a hurry; he had seven points while Duke held a 30-29 lead, but erupted for 11 points in the final five minutes of the first half, including a buzzer-beating, on-the-run 3-pointer that put the Blue Devils ahead 48-42 and seemed to swing momentum to the Duke side for good.

Flagg became the first player since Marquette’s Dwyane Wade in 2003 to have at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a tournament game.

“My teammates … put me in some really good spots tonight,” Flagg said. “Coach (Jon Scheyer), as well, put me in some really good spots. I think just making the right play and just letting the game happen (was the key).”

Scheyer didn’t hide how impressed he…

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Publish date : 2025-03-31 23:01:00

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