Kon Knueppel,Cooper Flagg and DUke are Elite Eight bound. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
For the first 19 minutes Thursday night, Arizona looked ready to challenge Duke.
But like so many teams before them, the Wildcats were reminded that college basketball is a 40-minute game. And keeping up with Duke for those 40 minutes is a difficult task, indeed,
Duke closed the first half with a 6-0 run then seized control early in the second en route to a 100-93 win over Arizona in the Sweet 16. In the end, Duke faced its stiffest test of the NCAA tournament. But it leaves the Sweet 16 with a convincing win over a good Arizona team.
Once again, freshman phenom Cooper Flagg led the way in a starring role alongside a supporting cast that’s arguably the best in the nation. He did it from inside and out, with his shooting, his defense, his vision, and his athleticism en route to 30 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks. He’s the first Duke player with 30 points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in an NCAA tournament game.
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Arizona’s Caleb Love, the hero of North Carolina’s Final Four win over Duke in 2022, did his best to play spoiler to Duke’s title hopes once again. But his 35 points weren’t enough as his NCAA career came to a close.
Late first-half surge proves critical for Duke
Flagg set the at the end of the first half with a buzzer-beater that sucked the air out of Arizona’s early momentum.
With 46 seconds remaining before halftime, Love hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 42-42. Duke’s Kon Knueppel responded with a 3 on the other end. Then, after another Love 3 missed the mark, Flagg grabbed an outlet pass off the rebound, dribbled past half court and pulled up from just beyond the logo for a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send Duke into halftime with a 6-0 run and all of the good vibes.
In a game that Duke ultimately won by seven points, the late first-half surge proved critical.
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Duke extended the run to 14-2 after halftime and at one point from the first half into the second hit 21 out of 24 field goals en route to a 70-51 advantage. It appeared on its way to a runaway win.
But Arizona wasn’t done. And Duke didn’t dominate for the first time this NCAA tournament.
Fueled by Love, the Wildcats ran off a 20-8 run of their own to cut the Duke advantage to 78-71. Arizona kept the game within striking distance and cut the lead to 98-93 in the game’s final seconds.
But Arizona never got closer than five points as Duke hit its free throws and fended off the late run to secure its spot in the next round.
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With the win, Duke advances to an Elite Eight matchup against an Alabama team that just scored 113 points against BYU and set a new record for 3-pointers made in an NCAA tournament game. It’s a matchup against the highest-scoring team in the country that could prove Duke’s toughest yet.
In Alabama, Duke faces a team that’s been here before. The Crimson Tide advanced to the Final Four last season with a run that included a win over No. 1 seed North Carolina. Mark Sears, a two-time All-American who joined Flagg on the Associated Press’ first team, is fresh off of one of the best games of his career, a 34-point effort that included 10 made 3-pointers in Thursday’s 113-88 win over BYU.
Until proven otherwise, Duke remains the favorite to cut down the nets in San Antonio. It will face a test like it’s yet to cross when it faces the Crimson Tide on Saturday.
