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It was never more clear than on Saturday night that the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels are a pair of programs heading into drastically different directions. An 87-70 win for the 2nd-ranked Blue Devils over their in-state rival wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated, but regardless, it did further cement Duke as one of the best team's in the country while simultaneously pushing Carolina further away from the eventual NCAA Tournament field.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Duke's 15th straight victory — their longest winning streak since the 2012-13 squad stormed out of the gate to a 15-0 start — is that star freshman Cooper Flagg passed yet another crucial test. Flagg filled the stat sheet during his first taste of the Tobacco Road Rivalry, finishing with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in 38 minutes of action.
Cooper Flagg may not have been pleased with the way he closed out his performance, noting that he wore down as the game progressed, but even still, the National Player of the Year front-runner played what may have been the best game of his career. And Duke head coach Jon Scheyer made sure to recognize the performance.
“He almost had a triple-double,” Scheyer noted after the win. “He was just in control the entire game. He makes everybody better around him, and it's a heck of a thing to have 21, 8 and 7 and you think he could've done more.”
One of the players who Flagg made better around him was fellow freshman Kon Knueppel, who finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting. It's this duo that gives fans in Durham hope that the program's first National Championship in ten years could be on the way in just a little over two months.
“They absolutely feed off each other,” Jon Scheyer said. “It starts with their competitiveness. They play both sides of the ball. They have high-level feel. … Add in their skill and versatility. Kon's posting and shooting and pick-and-roll. And everybody knows, Cooper's already doing everything. They have a great thing. There's a lot of maturity with both of them.”
