The way the Blue Devils began the day against Notre Dame, one would think they blew the doors off. The Blue Devils went up 14-0 against the Irish on the back of stellar defense and shot-making. The Irish would not be deterred, they had themselves a day from beyond the arc, shooting well over 50% (58.3) for the game. The Blue Devils stayed the course, but Notre Dame stayed within range, even hitting a last second shot before the half to pull within 8 of the Blue Devils at the break.
Duke seemed, at least for a while, like they’d figured out the Irish, pushing the second half lead to as much as 18. Cooper Flagg powered the Blue Devils attack, scoring an ACC freshman record 42 points. Flagg was sensational, hitting from everywhere on the court, including 4 of his 6 3-point attempts. Duke seemingly had thrown the knock-out punch, but Micah Shrewsberry’s team was not in a give-up state of mind. The Irish delivered a 13-1 punch back at the Blue Devils, who seemed as if they were both tired and had forgotten where the gas pedal was. Duke would close out the game from the free throw line to win it by 8, but the Irish acquitted themselves well and the Blue Devils, even with the win, have a lot to talk about.
As mentioned before, Cooper Flagg had a record setting day for the Blue Devils with 42 points on 11-14 shooting. Flagg hit 4 of his 6 3-pointers and dished 7 assists to go along with his 6 rebounds. Duke would need Flagg’s big day, as the backcourt for the Blue Devils was lackluster on the offensive end. The combination of Sion James, Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster went 2-13 shooting. Duke played the majority of the game without junior Maliq Brown, who went out with a knee injury. Khaman Maluach had a big game, even with having to play 13 more minutes than usual. The 7’2 center had a career day with 19 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 6-7 from the field and hitting 7 of his8 free throws.
The Good:
Obviously Cooper Flagg’s all around game was magnificent
Khaman Maluach was impressive on both ends for Duke
The Bad:
The second half let up
Gave up far too many open 3’s to the Irish, who shot 58.3%.
