NEWARK, N.J. — Before Cooper Flagg takes his skills to pro basketball, most likely in the next few months, he showed the college world once again what he has in his tool chest.
Drives to the basket with ease and fluidity, a mid-range game beyond his years, and for good measure, a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half. The freshman and his Duke teammates are off to the Elite Eight after a 100-93 win over Arizona in the East Regional semifinal on Thursday.
Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year, finished with an efficient 30 points, adding seven assists and six rebounds, and Kon Knueppel added 20 for Duke, which will play Alabama, a 113-88 winner over BYU, on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four in San Antonio.
The Crimson Tide used a three-point barrage to bury BYU, hitting an NCAA-record 25 shots on 51 attempts from downtown. Against the Blue Devils, don’t expect that repeat performance, but they will need to play a complete game to advance to their second straight Final Four.
What made Alabama so difficult to handle for parts of the year was its ability to get to the rim and finish. When they aren’t hitting layups or dunking, the Crimson Tide guards, mainly Mark Sears, can stretch the defense and hit open teammates. If they aren’t open, they will shoot it anyway.
Against BYU, those shots went down, but against Duke’s length and ability to pressure the ball, if the buckets aren’t falling, it could be a long and painful night.
Alabama didn’t have to do much when the ball was low on the block, scoring only 16 paint points, but will need to be diligent working it inside, especially if the Tide starts cold from the field. Bottom line, Alabama’s guards will have to do the heavy lifting for the majority of the game.
Duke finds multiple ways to beat teams, but it starts on the defensive end. The Blue Devils allow only 61 points a game and ranked fourth nationally in field-goal percentage, using their length with Flagg, center Khaman Maluach and reserve Patrick Ngongba, to clog driving lanes or put up low-percentage shots. Duke is no slouch on the offensive end either, and against Arizona, shot 60% for the game.
Offensively, Flagg, even at 6-foot-9, can run the offense, so Alabama must keep him above the free-throw line and throw multiple defenders at him before he has a chance to find open teammates, because if he does, it will most likely end in easy scores.
The Blue Devils’ proficiency in the paint also can be an issue for teams. Duke rarely beats itself with silly turnovers, so any chance Alabama has to convert turnovers into points, it must.