Clemson basketball's Brad Brownell gets brutally honest on stopping Cooper Flagg

02/09/2025 11:56 AM

Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell was very pleased with how his team managed Duke’s Cooper Flagg on Saturday night. The Tigers kept Flagg in check most of the game, en route to a 77-71 victory.

Flagg had the ball in the closing seconds to try and tie the game, but Clemson forced a turnover. Flagg slid to the floor, and a walking violation was called by the officials.

“We didn’t do anything nobody else hasn’t done before,” Brownell said, per ESPN.

Brownell was very happy with his team’s second half performance. Clemson basketball is now second in the ACC, after handing Duke their first conference loss of the season.

“The second half,” Brownell added, “that’s about as good as we can play.”

Clemson is now 19-5 overall, and 11-2 in the ACC. The Tigers are in second place in the league.

Clemson handed Duke their first loss in the ACC this season

Clemson basketball got an incredible performance from Viktor Lahkin to defeat Duke. Lahkin scored 22 points, and added four rebounds in the game. His job throughout the night was to curtail Flagg, who was stuck on six points for most of the game.

“[Flagg] is a great player,” Lakhin said. “We did a good job on him, but he’ll bounce back. Hopefully, we’ll see him again in the [ACC] tournament and we’ll do as good of a job then.”

The loss was Duke’s first this season in the ACC. Duke basketball already has 20 wins, and is looking like a possible no. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. In the final moments of the Duke-Clemson game, Tigers fans chanted “overrated” in the stands, much to the chagrin of Duke’s players.

Lahkin says coach Brownell preached to him that he had to remain composed to match up with Flagg.

“He probably circled that word 20 times talking to me,” Lakhin added.

Clemson basketball is in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory. The team is one of just three this season to defeat Duke. The others are Kansas and Kentucky.

Clemson and Duke don’t meet again in the regular season, but the two clubs could very well go at it again in the ACC tournament. Duke is currently 12-1 in the league, while Clemson is 11-2. Louisville is tied with Clemson for second place in the ACC. Wake Forest is right behind at 10-3.

The Tigers next play North Carolina on Monday, in another key matchup.

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