Cooper Flagg shined in his Duke-North Carolina rivalry debut, scoring 21 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out seven assists, leading the second-ranked Blue Devils to a commanding 87-70 victory over the Tar Heels on Saturday night.
Freshman Kon Knueppel also made his mark, contributing 22 points for Duke (19-2, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which showcased an impressive shooting performance of 52.8% and hit 10-of-20 attempts from beyond the arc, extending their winning streak to 15 games.
For the Tar Heels (13-10, 6-5), RJ Davis and Drake Powell each tallied 12 points, but the team struggled early, falling behind 40-13 and facing a daunting deficit that reached 32 points.
Takeaways
UNC: The Tar Heels have encountered difficulties, losing four of their last five games, with their only win coming in overtime against a Boston College squad that had just one conference victory at that time.
Duke: The Blue Devils have dominated their league opponents, winning their 11 conference games by an average margin of 19.8 points, although they faced tough challenges against Wake Forest and N.C. State recently.
Key moment
A pivotal moment came when the Blue Devils unleashed a 16-0 run that effectively sealed the game early on.
Tyrese Proctor ignited the scoring with a 3-pointer, assisted by Flagg’s quick decision-making against a double-team. He followed it up with a dunk after forcing a turnover. Shortly after, Flagg hit another 3-pointer, prompting UNC to call a timeout. Upon returning, he finished a play set up by Proctor, scoring and drawing a foul.
By the time Knueppel scored in the paint over Ian Jackson, Duke had surged ahead 23-6.
Key stat
Up next
Looking ahead, Duke will travel to Syracuse on Wednesday night, while North Carolina will host Pittsburgh on Saturday in a critical matchup that could strengthen their NCAA Tournament chances.
