Cooper Flagg powers Duke to dominant victory over rival North Carolina

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DURHAM, N.C. – In his first Duke-North Carolina rivalry game, Cooper Flagg delivered a standout performance with 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, leading No. 2 Duke to a commanding 87-70 victory over the Tar Heels on Saturday night.

Freshman Kon Knueppel added 22 points for the Blue Devils (19-2, 11-0 ACC), who shot an impressive 52.8% from the field and knocked down 10-of-20 from beyond the arc to secure their 15th consecutive win.

RJ Davis and Drake Powell led North Carolina (13-10, 6-5) with 12 points each, but the Tar Heels struggled early, falling behind 40-13 and trailing by as many as 32. UNC has now lost four of its last five games, with its only win in that span coming in overtime against a Boston College team with just one conference victory at the time.

Key Moment

Duke put the game out of reach early with a dominant 16-0 run.

Tyrese Proctor ignited the surge with a three-pointer off a Flagg assist, then followed it up with a fast-break dunk off a turnover. Flagg kept the momentum going, draining a three-pointer from the top of the arc before converting a transition layup off a Proctor feed. By the time Knueppel scored in the lane over Ian Jackson, Duke had built a commanding 23-6 lead.

Key Stat

North Carolina struggled offensively in the first half, committing more turnovers (nine) than made field goals. The Tar Heels shot just 8-for-27 (29.6%) from the field, while Duke capitalized with 11 points off those turnovers.

What’s Next

Duke travels to Syracuse on Wednesday night, while North Carolina looks to bounce back at home against Pittsburgh on Saturday in a game critical for its NCAA tournament hopes.

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