Duke did not want Cooper Flagg to win the ACC tour.
Blue Devils has made a robust case for the highest seed within the NCAA event, with a 73-62 victory in direction of Louisville within the title match of the ACC event on Saturday. That is the primary time Duke received the ACC title from the common season and the convention tour in the identical 2006 season.
Flagg didn’t play Duke’s final two video games on Thursday after launching his left ankle in opposition to Wake Forest on Thursday. Blue Devils survived the second half in North Carolina on Friday and was eliminated on Friday within the second half on Saturday with out it.
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Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel performed whereas Blue Devils used a 12-Zero operating within the first moments of the second half to throw a bonus of 38-33 on the break for cardinals in a 57-47 benefit, with 11:08. From there, Duke had simply needed to maintain the job and Louisville couldn’t make a comeback.
After filming 55% within the first half, Louisville was chilly in ice within the second half. The cardinals have been 27% on the bottom within the final 20 minutes.
Proctor completed with 19 factors, whereas Knueppel had 16.
Duke’s argument for #1 usually
Sure, ACC was not superb this season. The convention can get as little as three groups as doable within the NCAA event in choice on Sunday. However that ought to not diminish Duke’s achievements within the event with out Flagg and within the common season with the star bud.
Blue Devils surpassed opponents with greater than 20 factors per match and misplaced just one ACC sport all through the season. That got here to Clemson in early February. Tigers, seed no. Three Within the convention, they’re one of many few groups of tournaments in ACC.
From this loss, Duke received 11 direct video games, and his escape in opposition to North Carolina was the one sport with a single image of that stretch. Blue Devils additionally performed that sport with out the Maliq Brown junior striker, who sat in on Saturday with one other left -hand damage.
If Duke doesn’t obtain the highest seed within the NCAA tour, he’ll go to Auburn, Florida or Houston. And you possibly can perceive why any of those groups would obtain. Auburn received the title of the common season within the sec and Florida can win the convention tour with a victory over Tennessee. SEC was the deepest and greatest convention within the faculty basketball this season and can most likely make historical past on Sunday with the variety of groups that make the event. (Houston is a Darling Analytics and has its personal case, however Cougars have a head -to -toe loss for tigers at house and fewer quad 1.)
Duke will be capable to boast with each a daily season and the title of the convention event. And he can say that he did the latter with out his greatest participant. It is a fairly robust case for the choice committee.
Reside23 updates
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Last: Duke 73, Louisville 62
Blue Devils had solely an excessive amount of expertise for everybody else within the ACC all through the season. They set their season with a convention event title after they’ve dominated the league within the common season.
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NCAA says that Duke’s Cooper Flagg is anticipated to be out there for Insanity March
Click on the photograph above to learn the story. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Photos)
