The Athletic has live coverage of Florida vs. Texas Tech and Duke vs. Alabama in the Elite Eight of the Men’s NCAA Tournament
NEWARK, N.J. — By the time the scoop pass hit Cooper Flagg’s hands, Duke’s freshman superstar only had time to steal a quick glance up at the rapidly expiring clock. Four seconds, three …
Just enough time.
So off Flagg went, slicing straight down the center of the Prudential Center court, racing against the halftime buzzer of Thursday’s Sweet 16 slugfest against Arizona. Even two massive dribbles were only enough to get him so far: to the farthest fringe of the mid-court March Madness logo. But that would have to suffice. With his left heel still touching the logo, Flagg let a shot fly, leaned his head a little to track the trajectory of his would-be buzzer-beater — and then turned in jubilation as the ball dropped through the net, giving Duke a much-needed six-point halftime cushion.
“Let’s f—ing go, man!” Flagg screamed, flexing all the while, before he sprinted down a tunnel to the Blue Devils locker room.
For all his spectacular moments on Thursday night, no sequence better captures how Flagg willed Duke past Arizona, 100-93, and into the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season. And for as dominant as Flagg has been all season — including being named national player of the year and leading Duke in every major statistical category — this was his true breakout performance of the postseason: 30 points on nine-of-19 shooting, seven assists, six rebounds, three blocks and one steal.
In doing so, he became the first player since Dwyane Wade in the 2003 Elite Eight to record 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and three or more blocks in an NCAA Tournament game.
“One of the best tournament performances I’ve ever coached or been a part of,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said postgame. “He just did what he was supposed to do.”
And it wasn’t like the 6-foot-9 forward padded his stats in garbage time, either. Without every last one of those points — nine of which came at the free-throw line, including three in the final 93 seconds — there’s no telling whether No. 1 Duke would’ve survived No. 4 Arizona’s valiant comeback attempt.
But it sure is nice to have the best player in the country, isn’t it? Duke will play No. 2-seeded Alabama on Saturday to go to the Final Four.
“We just did the little plays to keep our lead, to keep it extended,” said junior guard Tyrese Proctor, “and then it just came down to fouls and free throws.”
Flagg had help with that down the stretch — especially from fellow freshman Kon Knueppel, who made six pivotal free throws in the final 2:10 — but Scheyer’s team never would’ve been in position to win in the first place without the soon-to-be No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
That was especially true considering old rival Caleb Love saved his best for last, for his tenth career meeting against the Blue Devils. His 3 to beat Duke in the 2022 Final Four remains one of the greatest shots in college basketball history. On Thursday, after Duke led by as many as 19 points midway through the second half, the former North Carolina star turned into a shooting supernova, scoring a season-high 35 points and draining five triples to get things as close as five points in the final minutes.
“He obviously had it going,” said Proctor, one of Love’s primary defenders.
The UNC transfer even had a chance, with 2:42 left and Arizona down six, to make it a one-possession game — until Duke’s 7-foot-2 center, Khaman Maluach, blocked his 3-point try and effectively kept Arizona at bay. And with only two other Wildcats finishing in double-figures, Love’s singular effort ultimately wasn’t enough to overcome Duke’s depth, despite the Blue Devils game-long foul trouble.
About that, though. There’s no disputing that the 46 combined fouls called (in 40 minutes, mind you) completely disrupted the flow of the game, especially in the first half, when both Scheyer and Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd were forced to go much deeper into their benches than normal. In Arizona’s case, two fouls apiece on guards Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis forced Lloyd to insert backup guard Conrad Martinez — who had seen six total postseason minutes entering Thursday — and otherwise lean heavily on Love, whose 14 first-half points carried the Wildcats.
As for Duke, the issue was with every member of the Blue Devils’ frontcourt. Maluach picked up two personals less than nine minutes into the game, forcing reserve Patrick Ngongba into action … until Ngongba also started getting whistled, winding up with three first-half fouls of his own. That left Scheyer no choice but to break glass in case of emergency, and play forward Maliq Brown — who re-dislocated his left shoulder on March 13 and hadn’t played since — for four pivotal minutes before the break. Brown recorded one rebound and one assist in that stretch, which may seem inconsequential, but his positional size prevented the wheels from falling off for Scheyer’s young Blue Devils.
And while a 14-5 Duke run after halftime seemed to erase any semblance that this would wind up a close contest, that foul trouble once again reared its head late. Ngongba fouled out — despite playing only 12 minutes — with 5:50 left to play and Duke up 11, forcing the Blue Devils to claw for everything down the final stretch. Each team had three players finish with at least four fouls, turning the game’s final minutes into a free-throw shooting contest.
But that’s how Duke, despite not making a single basket over the final four minutes, was able to hold on — because the best free-throw shooting team left in the field made 23 of its 27 attempts from the charity stripe, including nine of 10 in the last two minutes.
If not for that, Arizona might’ve had a real shot to close the gap in the game’s final minutes. Beyond Love’s blocked 3, the Wildcats cut their deficit to five with 1:52 to play, after Arizona freshman Carter Bryant hit a corner 3 over Flagg’s outstretched arm. Arizona promptly called timeout to set up its defense — only for Lewis to shove Flagg on the ensuing defensive possession, pick up his fifth and final foul and send Flagg back to the free-throw line.
Flagg calmly drained both, pushing the margin back to seven — and fully out of reach.
“He’s Cooper Flagg, simple as that,” graduate guard Sion James said. “He put us on his back.”
Minutes after the final buzzer sounded, after Knueppel and Maluach finished their on-court radio interviews, Duke’s three dynamic freshmen — who combined for 63 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and seven blocks — wrapped their arms around one another and paused for a second: fittingly, with Flagg in the center.
It was subtle, but something. Three teenagers soaking in the moment, one that isn’t promised again — especially not with the Crimson Tide awaiting in the Elite Eight.
If not for the thunderous applause from behind Duke’s bench, maybe they’d have stood there a second longer. But Flagg — as he had all night — took the lead once more, unfurling his arms from around his teammates’ shoulders and beginning their short jog down a back hallway.
Out of sight, but not out of mind.
And with the way Flagg played Thursday, no one will be forgetting those lasting images for quite some time.
(Photo of Cooper Flagg: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
