Cooper Flagg grabs attention with huge stat line vs. NC State
01/28/2025 12:27 AM
The Duke basketball team was a big favorite at home on Monday night as they hosted NC State, but they ended up getting a good battle from the Wolfpack. NC State came out of the gates strong and they were able to get out to a 13-point lead in the first half. Fortunately for Duke, a strong close to the half put them into a better spot going into the locker room, and a huge game from Cooper Flagg helped them escape with a 74-64 win.
Cooper Flagg is living up to the hype so far this season, and performances like the one he had against NC State are why. Flagg finished the game with 28 points on 8-17 shooting and he was 1-4 from deep. He also added seven rebounds and three assists. He carried the Blue Devils in this one.
The turning point in this game for the Duke basketball team was the way the close to the first half. The Blue Devils were trailing 35-22, but they finished things out on an 11-2 run to make it 37-33 at the break.
‘”Obviously that was a hard-fought game,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said after the game, according to a post from Blue Devil Nation. “Credit to State with the way they came out. You know, they had a pop to ’em. They shot the ball incredibly well. I think for us, just understanding the mental preparation, we couldn’t do anything physical yesterday, and so I thought we weren’t ready for the game that it was going to be. And that’s on me. I have to prepare them better and get them more ready. With that said, I thought that stretch into the first half, beginning the second half, our defense.”
Duke has been in that position before, and tonight, Sion James and Cooper Flagg were two of the players that stepped up the most for the Blue Devils.
“And that’s happened to us a few times, where you’re down or you need a spark,” Scheyer continued. “And what Sion James did there the end of the end of the first half, obviously, Cooper [Flagg] had played throughout, but the defense, to me, you know, told the story. You know, 27 second half points, went zone again. Didn’t expect that, but obviously that was a big thing for us again tonight. And I’m just really proud of our team. I think it’s a special effort. They have special character, because clearly we didn’t have our best stuff throughout, but just the way we battled, that’s always big time.”
Flagg and Duke are having a special year so far as they are currently 18-2 overall and 10-0 in ACC conference play. The Blue Devils are heavy favorites to take home the conference crown as the ACC is having a down year, but there are a couple teams on their heals in the standings.
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