NEWARK, N.J. — Duke stud Cooper Flagg put on a skills clinic and overcame an onslaught from Arizona and Caleb Love, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three blocks Thursday night in a 100-93 NCAA Tournament victory that pulled the Blue Devils within one win of the Final Four.
Flagg, long over the balky ankle that sidelined him earlier this month, did enough to prevent Love, a thorn in Duke’s side for five years, from ruining another Blue Devils season.
Love finished with 35 points, one short of his career high, including a streak of 12 straight for his Wildcats (24-13) during a ferocious second-half run that cut a 19-point deficit to as little as five with 1:56 left.
But it’s the top-seeded Blue Devils (34-3) moving to the Elite Eight for the second straight season. On Saturday comes a 1-vs.-2 showdown in the East Region, when coach Jon Scheyer’s team faces Alabama, which set a March Madness record for 3-pointers in a 113-88 win over BYU earlier in the evening.
A win would put Duke in the Final Four for the 18th time. The last time, in 2022, Love played for North Carolina and scored 28 points to bring an end to legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career.
This time, the 18-year-old Flagg ended Love’s stay in college, and showed why he should be the top pick in the NBA draft if he decides to leave, too.
