Freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel made memorable debuts in the Tobacco Road rivalry as No 2 Duke used a dominant first half to secure an 87-70 win over visiting North Carolina on Saturday night in Durham, North Carolina. Flagg racked up 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals for Duke (19-2, 11-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play), who extended the longest active winning streak in the country to 15 games. Meanwhile, Knueppel scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and added five rebounds and five assists. Tyrese Proctor had 17 points and Sion James 13 for the Blue Devils, who forced nine of North Carolina’s 14 total turnovers in the first half and led by as many as 27 points before intermission.
In his first taste of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry, Cooper Flagg delivered arguably the most complete performance of his career to lead the Blue Devils to a dominant 87-70 victory Saturday night. Flagg scored or assisted on each of Duke's first six baskets as the Blue Devils raced to an early lead, and his final line -- 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots -- proved to be an emphatic debut in one of the country's great rivalries. It was also the latest example that, as Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, Flagg is a basketball "savant." "It might be [my best college game]," Flagg said, "but for me, I'm just trying to make the right plays. Four of the first six baskets I assisted. That's huge for me to find my teammates and make plays for them."
Duke’s freshmen delivered. The rivalry that always does? Not so much. The buzz from the latest renewal of the famed Duke-North Carolina series fizzled quickly Saturday, lost amid the second-ranked Blue Devils’ dominance that drained drama and doubt about the outcome well before halftime. By the end, Duke had an 87-70 win that highlighted both the Blue Devils’ elite potential and the Tar Heels’ troubling trajectory when it comes to their NCAA Tournament chances. “I think it just shows when we come locked in and ready, and we stick to our game plan, what we can do,” Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg said.
