The Blue Devils end UA’s season with a 100-93 victory in the Sweet 16
NEWARK (N.J.) — Freshman star Cooper Flagg tallied 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three blocks Thursday night as No. 1 and top-seeded Duke survived 21st ranked and fourth-seeded Arizona 100-93 in a Sweet 16 thriller at the Prudential Center.
The Blue Devils (34-3) made 13 consecutive shots from the floor, including their first nine of the second half, to leap ahead before fending off a valiant Arizona comeback spearheaded by Caleb Love. Duke will face second-seeded Alabama in the East Region final on Saturday.
Kon Knueppel scored 20 points, Sion James 16 and Khaman Maluach 13 for the Blue Devils. That trio combined on 16-for-21 shooting from the floor, fueling Duke’s 60 percent night (33 of 55).
Love, an NCAA Tournament stalwart at both North Carolina and Arizona, scored a season-high 35 points in his final college game. Jaden Bradley contributed 15 and Henri Veesaar added 13 for the Wildcats (24-13), who couldn’t keep up despite making 12 3-pointers.
Arizona trailed 70-51 with 13:12 to go, but Love willed them back by pouring in 15 straight Wildcats points, converting from the paint, the arc and the foul line.
Arizona clawed within seven at the 4:45 mark when Love’s baseline cut resulted in an easy dunk, and Carter Bryant’s corner trey made it 91-86 with 1:56 to go. Flagg drew a foul when KJ Lewis pushed him to the ground, and the likely No. 1 overall draft pick converted both free throws to restore Duke’s seven-point edge.
The Wildcats managed three more buckets in the final 33 seconds, but Duke took care of business at the foul line to ice it.
DUKE POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Arizona enjoyed an early 15-10 lead but missed its next eight shots in a row. Tyrese Proctor, Isaiah Evans and Knueppel made triples to forge an 11-0 run and a seven-point Duke advantage.
The Wildcats tied it four times in the first but never pushed in front again. In the final minute, Knueppel answered Love’s game-tying 3-pointer with a trey of his own, then Flagg pulled up from 25 feet to beat the buzzer and deliver the Blue Devils a 48-42 lead.
Duke soon grabbed its first double-digit advantage when James’ corner triple made it 56-44 with 17:41 to play. Maluach subsequently was the centerpiece of the 13-for-13 run. Three of his five shots in that span were alley-oop dunks lobbed up by Flagg or Proctor.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
