Duke forward Cooper Flagg gave the NBA’s worst teams something to hope for with his strong effort in an 86-78 win over Notre Dame on Saturday.
The outstanding freshman, a leading contender for the Wooden Award, given annually to the country’s best college basketball player, had 42 points on 11-of-14 shooting, six rebounds, seven assists and a steal to lead Associated Press No. 4 Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) to its 10th consecutive win, the program’s first regular-season 10-game win streak since the beginning of the 2017-18 season (11-0).
Per the ESPN broadcast, Flagg became the first Duke player with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single game since head coach Jon Scheyer on Dec. 15, 2009, against Gardner-Webb.
This season, Flagg is averaging 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. The 6-foot-9 phenom was a five-star recruit out of high school and has been penciled in
as the likely No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft since July 2024.
With performances like his against Notre Dame, it’s obvious why.