How Cooper Flagg played in Duke basketball's Sweet Sixteen win vs. Arizona
03/28/2025 10:08 AM
For the second consecutive year, the Duke Blue Devils are on their way to the Elite Eight, holding off the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen to secure a 100-93 win over the Big 12 Tournament runner-up. The big story coming out of Thursday night’s game shouldn’t come as a huge surprise… in what was to date the biggest game of his short, albeit wildly impressive collegiate career, superstar freshman Cooper Flagg played what was perhaps his best and most complete game since arriving in Durham.
Flagg finished with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks, becoming the first player since Dwyane Wade in 2003 to record 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and three or more blocks in an NCAA Tournament game. But in reality, the gaudy statistics don’t even do the performance justice. In the Sweet Sixteen, Flagg put forth a dominant two-way masterclass, giving the Blue Devils exactly what they needed in each and every moment of a game in which the Wildcats refused to go away. Whether it was a strong take to the rim, an emphatic block, a perfectly placed pass, or a three at the buzzer, Flagg was prepared to deliver.
"One of the best tournament performances I've ever coached or been a part of," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said postgame, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com. “What I’ve wanted from him is not to defer. I’ve just wanted him to fully be him, and I thought he was that. He was in his element tonight. He was him. He had just a great personality. He was loose, talking, competitive, the whole thing. So yeah, he impresses me all the time.”
Duke guard Sion James summed it up even more succinctly.
"He's Cooper Flagg, simple as that," James said after the game, per Brendan Marks of The Athletic. "He put us on his back."
Considering Flagg was raised on the supremely-unselfish 1986 Boston Celtics, it’s unsurprising that he was eager to give back the credit to his teammates after the win.
“I think just playing with really good energy, trusting our game plan, trusting my teammates. They put me in some really good spots tonight,” Flagg said. “Coach, as well, put me in some really good spots. I think just making the right play and just letting the game happen.”
And there lies arguably the greatest strength of Cooper Flagg’s game. Even on a night where he routinely made the right play and let the game come to him, he was able to dominate on both ends of the floor in a way few collegiate players in recent memory could’ve.
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