Cooper Flagg, and Kon Knueppel lead the Blue Devils past the pesky Wolfpack in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Flagg finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Knueppel added 19 points as the Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) topped the Wolfpack (9-11, 2-7 ACC) 74-64. The Wolfpack rode an exceptional performance from the arc shooting 45% and doubling their season average making 10 threes. The Blue Devils were only able to connect on 4.
The Blue Devils came out the gate sluggish. The Blue Devils shot 20% and had 5 turnovers in the first 9 minutes of play. The Pack started off hitting from behind the arc going 5-7 from the three point line taking an early 21-11 lead on a 13-2 run. Then the Duke freshman turned the tides of the half. Flagg broke the big State run with a jumper, followed by the Kon Knueppel 3, sprinkle in consecutive steals and a 12 point deficit turned into a 4 point game. The Pack took the Devil’s punch and kept running. They finished the half shooting 58% from behind the arc going 7-12 overall. The Pack took a 4 point lead, after being up 13 at one point, into the half behind Dontrez Styles 13 points. Flagg finished the half with 5.
It took two minutes in the second half for the Blue Devils to tie the game on a Flagg drive. Styles picked up two quick fouls and subbed out as the Blue Devils took a 39-37 lead, their first lead since 2-0, after a 13-0 run ending the first half and extending to the first 10 points of the second. The 23-3 run by the Blue Devils was met by a mini 5-0 spurt by the Wolfpack to bring the Duke lead back to 3. For every run the Blue Devils went on, the Pack had an answer. Cooper Flagg took over at one point scoring 18 of his 23 points in the half but the Pack were still only down 2 points causing the Devils to call a timeout with 6 minutes to go.
Flaggs’ assist to Ngongba with 1:20 left gave the Blue Devils a 6 point lead which would turn out to be the final nail in the coffin. The Blue Devils, without Maliq Brown and Khaman Maluach (who bared his soul on the court to say the least), went back to their zone defense debuted against Wake Forest to stifle the Wolfpack offense over the last two minutes of play.
Takeaway:
Duke: This team can handle adversity. Down 13 points to a stubborn State team on a quick turnaround from an emotional 40 minutes against the Deacs was not too much for this team to overcome. Even after Maluach goes out with a sickness followed by a fan passing out in the Crazies, the weirdness of the night did not overcome the weary Blue Devils. On to Carolina.
State: They proved they can play. They had the Blue Devils on the rope and then rolled with the Duke haymakers. They forced the #2 Blue Devils to play the full 40 minutes. But is it too late? The Wolfpack are looking like they need to recreate the magic of last season and make a run in the ACC tourney to go dancing.
Next up for the Blue Devils: The UNC Tar Heels. The Blue Devils host the Tar Heels, and College Game Day, in the first iteration of the rivalry this season. Duke looks to stay undefeated in the ACC, the Tar Heels look for a win to get them off the bubble.
The Wolfpack host the Clemson Tigers. The Pack are still trying to get above .500 and they have another matchup against a top-tier ACC opponent.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login