Cooper Flagg flourished in what was in all likelihood his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cooper Flagg does it all for the Blue Devils as Duke’s leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
Monday night was no exception. Flagg stuffed the stat sheet to lead Duke to a 93-60 blowout win over Wake Forest in what was likely his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The victory clinched a share of Duke’s first ACC regular-season championship since 2022 and its second since 2010 while delivering a blow to Wake Forest’s fading NCAA tournament hopes.
Flagg will finish his freshman season at Duke having never lost a home game. Duke is 17-0 this season at Cameron.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Flagg flirted with a triple-double, finishing the night with 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals. He hit 3-of-6 3-pointers and shot 10-of-16 from the field.
With the win secured, head coach Jon Scheyer pulled Flagg with 3:34 remaining to allow an appreciative home crowd the chance to applaud the freshman phenom one last time. The Duke faithful responded by serenading Flagg with a chant of “one more year,” a wish that almost certainly won’t be fulfilled.
Up next for Duke is a regular-season finale on the road against rival North Carolina. From there, Duke will play in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. After that, Flagg is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
Advertisement
Advertisement
He’ll almost certainly secure that No. 1 spot, thanks to nights like Monday in which he’s exceeded the enormous expectations that he arrived with in Durham.
Wake Forest entered Monday needing a signature win to boost an NCAA tournament résumé that has it on the outside looking in to start the final week of the regular season. The Demon Deacons cut a 13-point halftime deficit to seven points early in the second half. But from there it was all Duke as the Blue Devils secured another ACC win in dominant fashion.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Flagg scored each of Duke’s first seven points after halftime and sparked a 51-25 run to end the game that ensured Wake Forest would not earn the résumé booster it so desperately needed. Flagg showed off his vast skillset during the run that produced multiple highlights, including a pass out of traffic to create a wide-open 3-pointer from teammate Sion James.
He did it on defense, with one of his three blocks setting up a transition layup on the other end.
He also made sure to secure his own highlight-reel dunk in transition.
It added up to a fitting home finale to what’s so far been a wildly successful season for Duke and Flagg.
