NEWARK, N.J. — With seven seconds left in the first half, Duke forward Mason Gillis rebounded an Arizona miss and underhanded the ball to Cooper Flagg, who raced up court, stopped with his heels just ahead of the March Madness logo at halfcourt and drilled a 25-foot 3-pointer as time expired to put the Blue Devils ahead 48-42 at the halftime of their NCAA men’s tournament Sweet 16 matchup in the East Region.
“Let’s (expletive) go, man!” Flagg screamed as he led the Blue Devils into the locker room.
The lead swelled to 62-47 just over four minutes into the second half, with Flagg making a pair of free throws and handing out three assists on as many offensive possessions to send a Duke-friendly crowd at the Prudential Center into a frenzy.
“It was an inflection point for us,” said freshman guard Kon Knueppel. “That was huge for momentum. That’s why we went on that big run at the start of the second half.”
Flagg put on a show as top-seeded Duke held on for a 100-93 win against the No. 4 Wildcats to reach the Elite Eight, scoring 30 points, pulling down six rebounds and dishing out seven assists in the sort of well-rounded performance that has moribund NBA franchises salivating and Duke aimed at the program’s first national championship since 2015 and sixth overall.
He’s the first player since former Marquette guard Dwyane Wade in 2003 to score at least 25 points with at least five rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a tournament game.
“That was one of the best tournament performances I’ve ever coached or been a part of,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer.
“What I’ve wanted from him is not to defer. I’ve just wanted him to fully be him, and I thought he was that. He was in his element tonight. He was him. He had just a great personality. He was loose, talking, competitive, the whole thing. So yeah, he impresses me all the time. But we need more of that on Saturday.”
The Blue Devils next face No. 2 Alabama, which set an NCAA tournament record with 25 3-pointers in a 113-88 win against No. 6 Brigham Young.
Flagg’s first 30-point game since dropping a career-high 42 points against Notre Dame on Jan. 11 came after suffering an ankle injury in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, sidelining him for wins against North Carolina and Louisville. Flagg played a combined 41 minutes in routs against No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s and No. 9 Baylor as coach Jon Scheyer eased him back into the lineup.
“I think it’s just a credit to coach Scheyer, the vision that he laid out for me,” Flagg said. “It just really felt like the right place with the right people.”
There’s not much left to say about the phenomenal freshman, who has lived up to his advance billing and then some as the consensus top recruit in his class and one of the top NBA prospects to recently come through the college game. Again and again, his play has pundits digging deep into the thesaurus to find ways to describe Flagg’s blindingly bright future.
But you can say this: When it comes to how this team matches up with the rest of the NCAA tournament field, the No. 1 Blue Devils’ biggest advantage is that they have Flagg and, well, you don’t.
“There’s nothing more I can say about how good a player Cooper is,” senior guard Sion James said. “It’s well-documented. Everyone knows.”
There are highlight-reel plays and then there are highlight-reel players; Flagg fits into the latter category. For most of Thursday night, no matter what or who Arizona threw at him — harassing guards, physical forwards, the kitchen sink — Flagg did what he wanted when he wanted to do it.
He scored from deep, connecting on three of five attempts from 3-point range. He scored in transition. He got buckets from the line, hitting 9 of his 10 free throws. He scored off screens. In isolation. From the elbow. In the paint. He orchestrated the Blue Devils’ offense as a point-forward, often bringing the ball up court.
Flagg’s shooting stroke “has gotten so much better” since Duke beat the Wildcats in November, said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. “And just his ability to play-make.”
Again and again, especially as Arizona climbed back into the game in the second half, Duke leaned on Flagg to deliver a response.
He went to the bench with the Blue Devils ahead 70-51 with 13:12 remaining, only to return a minute later, after a 5-0 Arizona run. Flagg quickly pulled down a defensive rebound and drilled a shot from the top of the key to push the lead back to 15 points at 75-60 with 10:07 to play. He made a crucial block of a Henri Veesaar layup attempt after the Wildcats had trimmed the score to 82-73 at the 7:11 mark. He made three free throws in the final 1:33 to ice the win.
“He was definitely big,” freshman center Patrick Ngongba said. “He led the charge and then we all followed him.”
He looms large over Alabama’s pursuit of a second Final Four appearance in a row. Flagg is a matchup nightmare for the Crimson Tide, who allowed BYU to score 50 points in the paint and simply do not have the personnel to combat his ability to singlehandedly commandeer games against some of the best teams in college basketball.
“I mean, I think just playing with really good energy, trusting our game plan, trusting my teammates,” Flagg said. “They put me in some really good spots tonight. Coach, as well, put me in some really good spots. I think just making the right play and just letting the game happen.”