The return of Cooper Flagg to the Duke basketball lineup couldn’t have gone better for the superstar freshman player. A little more than a week after rolling his ankle and spraining it, Flagg played more than 22 minutes without incident. The Blue Devils rolled to a 93-49 triumph over Mount St. Mary’s.
Flagg scored 14 points as he made 6 of 12 field goal attempts and 1 of 3 shots from beyond the arc. Flagg had a pair of blocked shots and also had 7 rebounds. Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said Flagg could have played longer but they were not pushed hard enough by the 16th-seeded Mountaineers. However, Duke took charge of the game early and the game was never in doubt.
“We were ready for him to play more, we were prepared for him to play as many minutes as he needed to,” Scheyer said, per college basketball insider Jaden Daly. “Frankly, it’s only been eight days, so I don’t think he’s lost a ton of shape.”
Scheyer’s presence could help Blue Devils get to the Final Four
Duke is clearly an elite college basketball team, and the Blue Devils raised their record to 32-3 with the win. The victory propelled them into a second-round matchup with the 9th-seeded Baylor Bears. Baylor defeated Mississippi State by a 75-72 margin in the Bulldogs’ first-round game. Guard Robert Wright led the Bears with 19 points on 9 of 15 shooting from the field.
The 6-9 Flagg appears to be headed to the NBA next season and he is the presumed No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. He showed off his mobility on an early fast break and did not demonstrate any issues during his time on the court.
Flagg trained on a pool treadmill to return to playing shape after the injury. Scheyer said the fact that Flagg was able to return Friday should help the superstar in Sunday’s game and beyond.
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