The team that everyone loves to hate might be unstoppable.
Led by Cooper Flagg, a finalist for the Naismith Trophy as the best player in men’s college hoops, the Blue Devils absolutely rolled through the first weekend of the tournament. First, it was a 93-49 trouncing of Mount St. Mary’s in the opening round and then – on a day full of drama in most of the other games – it was a 89-66 stomping of Baylor that sent them to the Sweet 16.
The scariest thing for Duke’s opponents is the number of options they have that can beat you. Sure, everyone is thinking about Flagg, but the standout player of the opening weekend was Tyrese Proctor, who scored 25 and 19 points against Baylor and Mount St. Mary’s respectively. If you slow either of them down, Kon Knueppel –the freshman who averaged 14.1 points per game in the regular season – might take up the scoring mantle instead.
So far, the Blue Devils have improved on their regular season shooting percentage and 3-point shooting percentage and dropped their turnovers in their opening two games of the tournament. If Arizona and star guard Caleb Love – a transfer who once played against the Blue Devils at archrival North Carolina – can’t slow down Duke’s well-oiled machine, then head coach Jon Scheyer may have an easy path to San Antonio and the Final Four.
“I think it goes back to something – like you said, this is just something I dreamed about ever since I was a little kid,” Flagg said Wednesday of playing in the NCAA tournament. “These are the moments that I imagined myself being in when I was in the driveway, things like that. Just a surreal feeling to be here in these moments and have these opportunities. I just feel really blessed.”
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