Duke basketball is officially looking like a runaway freight train in the ACC. The Blue Devils faced off against Pittsburgh, a strong conference rival they had fallen to last season, in their latest outing.
Led by a second-half surge from Cooper Flagg, Duke got sweet revenge on the Panthers with a 76-47 blowout win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Pitt had headed into the game with a 3-0 record in ACC play and a 12-2 record overall.
Flagg finished the contest with a team-high 19 points, and all five starters cracked double-digit scoring. The projected No. 1 draft pick also had 11 rebounds and five assists while shooting 7/11 from the field.
Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer addressed Flagg’s dominant 14-point second half after the win. Scheyer had missed Duke’s previous game with an illness, but he returned from his one-game absence to witness his team’s masterclass.
“The job that Cooper did in the second half, he is so competitive, and he brings out a lot of good stuff from his teammates and for our team,” Scheyer said, per 247 Sports. “To close the game on an 18-0 run was big time. I’m really proud of our team. It’s good to be back in person.”
Early in the second half, Flagg made headlines with one of the best dunks of the year. His coast-to-coast poster brought the entire home crowd to its feet and went viral across social media.
Scheyer called the dunk “a Zion kind of play,” likening it to other signature moments in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“We’ve had a few guys through the years to make a couple plays that just spark everybody in the building,” Scheyer said, per ESPN. “That was one of those moments tonight.”
Flagg’s high-flying heroics left everyone flabbergasted – even his teammates. Duke guard Tyrese Proctor called it “the best in-game dunk I’ve ever seen.” Flagg credited a foul on the previous play for fueling the angry slam.
“I was kind of mad at myself for a stupid foul [on the previous play],” Flagg said. “It was definitely a little anger, and I took it out on the rim. To be honest, I kind of felt like as soon as I jumped, my mind kind of went blank and it just all happened really fast.”
Sitting at 5-0 in ACC action and 13-2 overall, Duke looks like an overwhelming favorite to earn a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday. The Blue Devils will return to the court on January 11 against Notre Dame.
