How Cooper Flagg played in Duke's NCAA Tournament blowout over Baylor
03/23/2025 08:38 PM
The Duke Blue Devils are playing the way a No. 1 seed is supposed to execute. Duke rolled to an 89-66 victory over 9th-seeded Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and moved on to the Sweet 16 with its second consecutive blowout victory. It was another solid day for freshman superstar Cooper Flagg, who contributed 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Cooper Flagg got busy in his second NCAA Tournament appearance
18 PTS
9 REBS
6 ASTS#MarchMadness@DukeMBBpic.twitter.com/Vy6vUlJxD8— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025
Flagg has played in both of Duke’s tournament games after spraining his ankle during the ACC tournament earlier in March. He has been able to play effectively in the 93-49 victory over Mount St. Mary’s as well as the win over Baylor, but neither he nor his Duke teammates have been put to the test at this point.
Flagg actually faced some early foul trouble against the Bears, but his teammates quickly took the drama out of the game. Duke was trailing by a point with less than eight minutes to go in the first half but their 24-6 run gave them control of a game that they would never surrender.
Tyrese Proctor took over the game once Flagg got into his foul difficulty and he led the Blue Devils with 25 points. He pointed out that Duke has shown the ability to put opponents away throughout the season and they have continued to do so in the tournament.
“It’s a thing we’ve spoken about a lot as a team, just not letting our foot off the gas,” Proctor said. “Valuing the ball is big, and once our defense gets cooking, it’s hard to stop us, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
It was clearly not a lot of fun for the Bears.
Flagg said Duke’s motivation is winning each possession
The Blue Devils are not necessarily interested in blowing out opponents, even though they have recorded 21 of their 33 victory by 2o points or more.
Flagg said that head coach Jon Scheyer’s point of emphasis with the team is to compete on every single possession. “That’s not what we’re focused on,” Flagg explained. “We’re just out here playing each possession, trying to beat teams as best we can.”
The superstar realizes that competition will get more intense with each game, and that playing in the tournament ensures that Duke players will maximize their effort in every game.
Flagg is very likely to be the No. 1 draft pick in the NBA later this year. He is averaging 18.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He is connecting on 48.8 percent of his shots from the field, 83.1 percent from the free throw line and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils will face the winner of the Oregon-Arizona game in Newark, NJ in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
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