Flagg flies in March Madness and Duke wins 100-93 over Arizona to reach the Elite Eight

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Duke stud Cooper Flagg’s highlight reel included a 3-pointer from just in front of the logo at the halftime buzzer, one no-look pass for an alley-oop and another for a 3, and a huge blocked shot into a row of Arizona cheerleaders.

He needed all that to hold off an onslaught from the Wildcats and Duke’s biggest nemesis, Caleb Love, for a 100-93 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night that pushed the Blue Devils a win from the Final Four.

Flagg’s final line: 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three blocks. And his biggest college win yet.

“That’s one of the best tournament performances I’ve ever coached or been a part of,” said coach Jon Scheyer, who has seen plenty.

Love, a thorn in Duke's side for the last five years, finished with 35 points, one short of his career high, including a streak of 15 straight for his fourth-seeded Wildcats (24-13) during a ferocious second-half run that cut a 19-point deficit to five with 1:56 left.

But it’s the top-seeded Blue Devils (34-3) moving on. On Saturday comes a 1-vs.-2 showdown in the East Region, when Scheyer’s team faces Alabama, which set a March Madnessrecord for 3-pointers in a 113-88 win over BYU earlier in the evening.

A win would put Duke in the Final Four for the 18th time. The last time, in 2022, Love played for North Carolina and scored 28 points to bring an end to legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career.

This time, the 18-year-old Flagg ended Love’s stay in college, and showed why he should be the top pick in the NBA draft if he decides to leave, too.

“What I’ve wanted from him was not to defer,” Scheyer said. “Just wanted him to fully be him. I thought he was in his element tonight. He was loose, talking, competitive, the whole thing.”

Arizona chipped away at its big deficit and got within five when Carter Bryant made a 3-pointer with 1:56 left.

Flagg made three of four free throws — and Duke made 9 of 10 — to salt away the win down the stretch.

“They were a machine on offense,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said.

Duke shot 60% from the floor and 57.9% from 3 to close out a defense-optional night at the Prudential Center in which both winners hit triple digits.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats sagged and hung on the 6-foot-9 freshman and made him work for everything. But he was just better than everyone on the court.

There were too many highlights to count. Here were a few:

— At the end of the first half, when Duke rebounded Love’s missed 3, worked the ball to Flagg and he swished his own 3, then turned around and screamed “Let’s go, man!” as he ran to the locker room with a 48-42 lead.

— A spinning, no-look pass to Sion James, who made an open 3 early in the second half, as part of a run that built the lead to 19.

— Two alley-oops, one a no-look to Khaman Maluach, the other to Kon Knueppel.

— A massive rejection of Arizona guard KJ Lewis into the phalanx of Arizona cheerleaders on a possession that could’ve trimmed the deficit to seven with about five minutes left.

It was a show that brought a close to Love’s vibrant college career — one he wasn’t willing to see end without a fight. He missed his first three shots but finished 11 for 21 and made five 3s to keep his team in it.

“He’s had an amazing career and I’m so excited for his future,” Lloyd said. “He was tremendous today. He’s going to wake up tomorrow and he’s going to smile. He has a lot to look forward to and so I’m really, really proud of him.”

Love scored seven more than he did when he shut down Coach K’s career.

In this one, he got the most help from Jaden Bradley, who finished with 15 points. But the Wildcats couldn’t do enough to conjure a repeat of 2011, the last time these programs met in the tournament and Arizona knocked out the top-seeded Blue Devils.

Brown back for Duke

Maliq Brown returned to action for the Blue Devils after sitting out two weeks with an injured shoulder.

Sporting a sleeve on his left shoulder and upper arm, the junior came into the game with 7:51 left in the first half. He played four minutes and finished with a rebound and an assist.

Arizona gets recruiting win

Arizona did get a big win earlier Thursday, when one of the nation’s top high school prospects, Koa Peat, said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he was committing to play for the Wildcats.

Peat is expected to join another top recruit, LeBron James’ son Bryce, in coach Tommy Lloyd’s program next season.

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