Cooper Flagg and Duke once again blew away a top of the table ACC foe. The Blue Devils (13-2, 4-0 ACC) handled the Pittsburgh Panthers (11-3, 3-1 ACC) 76-47. Duke wins their 9th game in a row and takes over sole possession of first place in the ACC.
Duke started out the game red hot, making their first three shots to take a quick 8-2 lead. The Blue Devils then cooled off considerably, missing their next 11 out of 12 shots. KenPom’s #1 ranked defense kept the Blue Devils in the game. They forced the Panthers to hold onto the ball deep into the shot clock. As a result, the Panthers settled for contested, long-range shots.
Duke star Cooper Flagg was all but ineffective in the first half. He got into early foul trouble and went to the bench with around 12 minutes to go in the first half with two fouls. Pitt took advantage and went on a 7-0 run to take a one point lead into the under 12 minutes timeout.
For the second game in a row, Duke had two unsuspecting heroes on the offensive end in the first half. 5th year transfer from Purdue, Mason Gillis, found his stroke from 3 and got to the hoop for a one-man 5-0 run followed by a Maluach dunk to give Duke a 3 point lead. Knueppel then joined the fun with back to back to back threes as the Blue Devil’s offense was resurrected. Flagg checked back into the game around the 3 minute mark and avoided disaster by not picking up a cheap third foul. Duke took a 34-24 lead at the half. Kon Kneuppel led the Blue Devils with 11 points at the half, Flagg finished with 5.
Cooper Flagg showed why he will be the #1 pick in the upcoming draft at the start of the second half. His first two points came with a Jayson Tatum-esque stepback midrange jumper. Followed by a block and two rebounds. He then came up with a steal and a fast break poster dunk on the Panthers 7’ center Guillermo Diaz Graham and the foul. The next possession ended with another thunderous jam by Flagg which tore the roof off of Cameron Indoor Stadium. The route was on from there with Duke ending the game on a 18-0 run.
Lost in the offensive hoopla of Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils was their elite defensive effort. The Pitt Panther came into the game averaging 84 points a game. They finished with 47 points.
Cooper Flagg finished with another double-double scoring 19 points and securing 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Knueppel scored an additional 17 points, and Tyrese Proctor finished with 13 points.
For the Panthers, Cameron Corhen led Pitt with 11 points, Jaland Lowe ended with 8.
Looking ahead, the Blue Devils host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday (7-7, 1-2 ACC) at noon. The Blue Devils should be able to maintain their position atop the ACC after that contest.
The Panthers will play host against the Louisville Cardinals (10-5. 3-1 ACC) coming off a big win against UNC last week. Pitt is favored to win, but this game could go either way.
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