Duke’s Cooper Flagg keeps living up to hype in NCAA Tournament
Freshman Duke forward Cooper Flagg has continued to prove he’s not all hype through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.Â
On Sunday, the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils faced the No. 9-seeded Baylor Bears. Flagg dominated in an 89-66 Blue Devils’ win. The 6-foot-9, 205-pounder scored 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and tallied six assists.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025
Through his first two NCAA Tournament games, Flagg has 32 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. According to CBS Sports, Flagg is the only freshman with 30-plus points, 15-plus rebounds and 10-plus assists through his first two March Madness games over the past 30 years.
Freshmen with 30+ Pts, 15+ Reb, 10+ Ast through 2 NCAAT games over the last 30 years
2025 Cooper Flagg
That’s the list pic.twitter.com/wwB2125bqB
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2025
Citing ESPN research, ESPN’s David Hale reported Duke has now won its first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined 67 points, which is tied for the eighth-largest margin through two games in March Madness history.Â
Some scouts aren’t sure Duke would be as dominant without Flagg, whom 247 Sports ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class.Â
“I thought [Duke] would be good but not a top two or three team in the country,” an Eastern Conference general manager told ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony in a story published Sunday. “The ACC was down, but I didn’t think he’d be able to elevate Duke and his teammates quite to this level at 17 years old. To do what he did, and … for Duke to be one of the title favorites. I didn’t see that happening.”Â
Of course, Duke could still be a national title contender without Flagg. Its roster boasts junior guard Tyrese Proctor, who scored a game-high 25 points against Baylor.Â
But it’s fair to say Flagg’s ability to facilitate and score has turned the Blue Devils from a good team into one that could be great.Â
Duke will face No. 4-seeded Arizona or No. 5-seeded Oregon in the Sweet 16, where they’ll need Flagg to keep showing why he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.Â
Clark Dalton
Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.
