The Arizona Wildcats challenged the Duke Blue Devils like no other team had been able to do so far in this NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The No. 4 seed Wildcats were neck and neck with the No. 1 seed Blue Devils for most of the first half on Thursday night in Newark, New Jersey.
And then Cooper Flagg changed the Sweet 16 game with his hustle, transition ability and pinpoint shooting — all on the same play.
In the final seconds of the first half, Duke was up by just three points after the teams had gone back and forth to start the game. But like he’s done so often in his freshman season for the Blue Devils, the Atlantic Coast Conference player and rookie of the year took over.
Flagg got a pass from a teammate after a loose ball, quickly started a fast break, dribbled to a few feet beyond the 3-point arc, pulled up for a deep three and knocked it down as time expired in the half. He only had the ball in his hands for about four seconds on the play, but they were some of the most consequential seconds of the game.
It was an emphatic moment for Flagg and his teammates, and a deflating blow for Arizona.
That bucket capped off a 15 point onslaught from Flagg in the last seven and a half minutes of the first half alone. He finished with 18 points in that first half and 30 for the game.
The Blue Devils swelled their six point halftime lead to double digits in the second half, and though Arizona went on a spirited run with less than 10 minutes left to play and cut it to as close as five, the separation that Duke started to establish at the half proved too much to overcome.
Flagg added seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks as he continued to make his presence felt on both ends of the court. Three precise lob passes from Flagg led to six momentum-building points for the Blue Devils during a spirited run early in the second half, and even an impressive 35 points from Arizona guard Caleb Love was not enough to erase that momentum.
Flagg’s game-changing play to end the first half was a good encapsulation of the input that some of his coaches from over the years provided to the Bangor Daily News this week. Like how Kevin Reed, who coached Flagg in the 2nd grade, described Flagg’s ability then and now to bring down a rebound and immediately push the ball down the court in transition.
Flagg showed a similar transition ability at the end of the first half. And the way he reveled in the moment with his teammates simultaneously showed the love of the game that Flagg’s Nokomis Regional High School coach Earl Anderson described.
“I mean he just loves every aspect of the game. He loves playing. He always has,” Anderson said. “That’s something you can’t teach.”
Flagg’s longtime player development coach Matt MacKenzie has repeatedly emphasized the competitiveness that drives Flagg, which was once again on display during that play and throughout the game.
And while Flagg’s cross-court clinic to finish the first half stands out, it was far from his only pivotal effort in Thursday night’s 100-93 win over Arizona.
His passing, another point of emphasis from the coach conversations this week, was crisp and timely — especially on those electric lob plays in the second half. Flagg also provided a powerful block with around five minutes left in the game as a surging Arizona team looked to attack in transition.
Flagg proved all night why those who know his game best emphasize his competitive drive and will to win. Arizona fought hard and kept things interesting, but Flagg’s extra effort — at the end of the first half and throughout the game — helped send Duke through to the Elite Eight.
