The Duke Blue Devils, under the leadership of Jon Scheyer, are striving to revive their glorious past from the Coach K era. A key player in this effort is Cooper Flagg. However, during their game against the Auburn Tigers, Flagg faced some challenges, yet the Blue Devils triumphed over the number 2 ranked Tigers, thanks to contributions from another standout player.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Field Of 68: After Dark, analysts Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster discussed how the Blue Devils managed to upset the Tigers despite Flagg’s average performance, stating that their NCAA title aspirations remain strong.
“Other than shooting the three, Cooper Flagg did everything tonight. And he had help; Proctor made some shots, Kon Knueppel drove decisively at the end, and Sion James made a couple of key plays. This was just a good team win for Duke, especially against a formidable opponent like the Tigers,” Goodman remarked.
Flagg scored a game-high 22 points but struggled with his shooting stats, making only 7-of-18 field goals and missing all his three-point attempts. Nevertheless, teammate Tyrese Proctor stepped up, hitting 4-of-10 field goals and 2-of-5 from three-point range, ensuring that Duke could overcome Flagg’s shooting difficulties.
Other than that, Kon Knueppel made two free throws and a layup with a minute remaining from the final buzzer, which helped the Blue Devils maintain an unassailable lead. Plus their guard Sion James hit 9 points with 5 rebounds which did contribute to the Duke’s 84-78 win. Overall, it was a sight to watch the ninth-ranked Blue Devils usurp the second-ranked Tigers, and this certainly has lifted their hopes.
Duke can make a difference in the NCAA Championship competition
When Coach K retired in 2022, his assistant Jon Scheyer stepped in as the new head coach of the Blue Devils. However, in his first two seasons, the five-time NCAA Champions have struggled to reach their former heights. They were eliminated in the Round of 32 in Scheyer’s first year and fell short in the Elite Eight last season.
After losing two games this year—one to Kansas and another to Kentucky—an upset against the number two ranked Tigers seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, this victory has rekindled their hopes for a strong performance in the NCAA tournament this season.
“Duke is gonna win this year because of their defense. This is a team that is going to be built around making it hard for opponents to score. Auburn is massive—large on the wings and all around—but they looked small against Duke in Cameron tonight. It was a really impressive win for Duke,” remarked Dauster.
The Blue Devils showed spectacular defense collecting 34 rebounds out of which 22 were on the defensive end. To top that, the team had 7 steals and 4 blocks and at no point, it looked as if they were against a big team. Hopefully, Duke will carry on their on-song performances and continue to thrill their fans.
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