RALEIGH, N.C. — Tyrese Proctor made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points to continue his recent tear, helping No. 1 seed Duke beat Baylor 89-66 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Blue Devils (33-3), the headliner in the East Region and one of the favorites to win it all. They will face either Oregon or Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.
Proctor, a junior, made 7 of 8 3-pointers — his third straight game with at least six 3s and an abrupt turnaround after going 0 for 10 in his first two Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament games. He made 9 of 10 shots overall Sunday.
Duke shot 64.4 percent, hit 12 3-pointers and turned it over just six times.
Freshman V.J. Edgecombe scored 16 points for the ninth-seeded Bears (20-15), who haven’t reached the tournament’s second weekend since Scott Drew’s team won it all in the Indianapolis bubble in 2021.
Duke took over in the 7 1/2 minutes before halftime, outscoring Baylor 24-6 with clean offensive execution while also holding up better against the Bears’ relentless work on the offensive glass that upped the physicality of the game. That included Flagg sporting a red, puffy right eyelid and teammate Mason Gillis picking up a bright red scratch stretching from the right side of his neck around toward his throat.
Duke led 47-30 at the half, and Baylor got no closer than 13 points afterward. The Bears shot 36.8 percent.
Story by Aaron Beard.
