Duke Holds Off Scrappy Notre Dame As Cooper Flagg Rips Off 42

Flagg had one of the best all-around games at Duke since Grant Hill was a Blue Devil

Well we told you they were dangerous.

Duke in many ways had a tremendous game against Notre Dame, starting with a 14-0 lead and threatening to run the Irish back to South Bend.

Notre Dame is a very well-coached team though and despite being drubbed for much of the contest, they never gave up and in the end ripped off a 13-0 lead to make it a game again, and making Duke sweat after what the Blue Devils did for most of the afternoon was a significant accomplishment.

Yes, Duke won, 86-78. Yes, Cooper Flagg had an incredible game with a Duke and ACC record 42 points, most ever by a freshman.

However, the Blue Devils left the door open and Notre Dame came within one missed three by Matt Allocco of making it a two-point game with :45 seconds left to play.

People are going to talk about this game because of Flagg’s phenomenal performance but what Duke is going to be talking about in the locker room and for the next couple of days is how they almost blew an 18-point lead with 6:07 to go.

Still, a win is a win and odds are not many people will remember the circumstances.

What they will remember is Flagg’s sensational performance.

The kid from Maine racked up an incredibly efficient 42 points while shooting 4-6 on threes, 11-14 overall and 16-17 from the line. He also had six rebounds and seven assists and another dunk that wowed.

And none of it seemed like he was operating outside the offense or being selfish. It was all just part of the flow of the game.

As great as that was, Khaman Maluach had a superb game as well, racking up 19 points on 6-7 from the floor (no threes here) and 7-8 from the line.

Kon Knueppel had 13 on 3-8/2-7 and 5-6 from the line.

The backcourt troika - Tyrese Proctor, Sion James and Caleb Foster - had just seven points although Proctor and James combined for six assists. Mason Gillis had three points and four rebounds while Patrick Ngongba finished with two points and one rebound in five minutes of playing time.

That lack of productivity by the backcourt is a mild concern but it’s one game. They’ve been okay before and will be again.

What is a concern is that Maliq Brown banged up his knee in a collision with Gillis. It didn't look serious - he was walking without help - but you never know until you do.

The main weapon of this team - defense - was solid until the last six minutes. Although Notre Dame hit phenomenally well from outside, shooting 14-24 from deep (58.3 percent), getting inside was a real chore for most of the game. They hit just four shots inside the line in the first half, counting Braeden Shrewsberry’s last-second shot that looked like a three but was ruled a two.

The Irish had just five turnovers in the first half but it looked like a lot more. Duke consistently pushed them into rushed or panicked passes and they were having trouble getting their offense organized.

But the threes started falling and the Irish cut big Duke leads down at the end of both halves.

Markus Burton finished with 23, including 4-6 from deep, while Shrewsberry hit 3-4. Allocco hit 2-4 from there and freshman Sir Mohammed, who looked really good Saturday, managed 2-4 and 11 points overall.

The big story from this game is Flagg going in a Laettner-like takeover mode (by the way, has anyone asked Laettner what he thinks about young Flagg?) but the real story, as we said above, was Notre Dame’s late comeback. And it wasn’t even the last 6:07. It was the last 3:58.

Kebba Njie hit a two (3:58), then Shrewsberry got a three-point play the old-fashioned way to cut the lead to 79-66 (3:02).

Then Burton hit a three (2:28) and the lead was down to 79-69. Njie tipped a shot in to cut it to 79-71 (1:45) and and soon after Allocco hit a three to make it a five point game (1:03).

Fortunately for Duke, he missed the one that would have cut the lead to two and Sion James broke the run with a free throw (:45) to make it 80-74.

Burton hit a layup (:36) to make it 80-76 and then Duke hit four straight foul shots, two by Flagg and two by Maluach, to make it 84-76.

Burton got another layup (:12) before Flagg hit a final pair at the line for the final score of 86-78.

That breakdown at the end will be analyzed carefully by the staff, as they should, but the rest of the world is going to be talking about Flagg, who had one of the best games in Duke history.

For context, when JJ Redick hit 41 against Texas, he shot 9-16 from three point range and 13-24 overall.

When Zion Williamson had 35 against Syracuse, he shot 12-20/1-5 and 10-14 from the line. He had 10 points and one assist.

What Flagg did Saturday was incredible and none of it was forced. You could sort of tell at the end that he’d like to have 40, but it wasn't at the expense of the team or a teammate. He was still playing team ball.

Earlier, people mistook his team-first approach for a lack of a killer instinct or something. They thought his three point shooting was a weakness and some called him overrated.

Well, no one is saying that anymore.

In the last two games, we’ve gotten a really clear indication not just of his talents but also of his extraordinary competitive desire.

You can see - after a 40-point game like that - even the most casual fan can see what the fuss was about. Flagg is not like anyone else we’ve seen. Certainly he’s not a talent like Williamson, although he, too, can overwhelm you. He’s not like LeBron James, who has hopped from team to team in search of titles.

Laettner is a pretty good approximation in some ways. Like Laettner, Flagg has a bit of a mean streak that we’re seeing, and that’s great.

And you can’t exactly compare him to one of his heroes, Larry Bird, who was a basketball prodigy.

But perhaps you could compare him to Grant Hill.

Like Hill, Flagg will let other guys shine. Like Hill, he likes to be part of the team and values that. Like Hill, he’s incredibly versatile and polished. And unlike Hill, he can hit threes. He’s the closest thing we’ve seen to #33 since Hill graduated in 1994.

In short, you can now consider the earlier criticisms of Flagg’s game dismissed. The guy is legitimately great. You certainly won't see four years of this so enjoy it while you can.

Notes - we’re starting to see more of Ngongba and the potential is there...he just needs time and reps...he’s a smart player...the dustup between Maluach and Burton was kind of funny and it took some nerve for Maluach to go toe-to-toe with a guy who is 15 inches taller...in Scheyer’s first couple of games as head coach he seemed somehow small and insecure...who could blame him after following Mike Krzyzewski...when he came after the ref Saturday and drew a T, that was a different Scheyer...he’s really come into his own...

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