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Cooper Flagg goes for 42 on just 14 field goal attempts to lead #4 Duke past Notre Dame

Plenty of headlines across college basketball on Saturday, but maybe none were bigger than the monster performance Cooper Flagg put on in Cameroon Indoor. The Duke star freshman scored 42 points to set the ACC freshman single-game scoring record. In addition to securing his new record, he grabbed six rebounds, and dished out seven assists with extreme efficiency, as he shot 11-14 from the field, 4-6 from three, and 16-17 from the free throw line. Flagg led the way for the Blue Devils as they survived a late surge from visiting Notre Dame to win 86-78.

Flagg showed he can truly score in any way possible on Saturday, scoring with great efficiency from all three levels. As Notre Dame continued to fight late on, Duke needed every last free throw from Flagg to get by, meaning that 16-17 mark can’t go unnoticed either. A handful were to ice the game away, but when you have a player as unique as Flagg, it’s tough to match him up and defend without fouling over the course of 40 minutes, which Notre Dame will attest to after Saturday’s loss.

The performance itself from Flagg was great, but what he’s done this week may have impacts on the sport far greater. If you’re reading this, you’ve known who Cooper Flagg is for a long time and you’re also big into consuming college basketball. But many of the casual fans across the country have heard the name Cooper Flagg a handful of times but maybe haven’t seen him play all too often.

For the last month, Duke has gone under the radar, not playing many nationally televised games. That should change as ACC play heats up, and especially after the show Flagg put on this week. Flagg’s impact this week – first his monster poster against Pitt on Tuesday, then his record-breaking 42-point performance Saturday – have made headlines all across the sporting world and should have a lot more people tuning in to see Cooper Flagg over the next few months.

When there’s a name as big as Cooper Flagg actively playing, in order to grow college basketball, he’s going to need to be the face of the sport. With Johni Broome out injured for at least a couple of weeks, Flagg can truly take over as the king of the sport and the frontrunner for the Wooden Award if he continues to play at the level he did Saturday.

As it stands, Duke has won 10 in a row and now sits at 14-2 (6-0 ACC). The Blue Devils rank second at KenPom.com and should be inside the top three of the AP Poll when it releases Monday. A truly outstanding team that is headlined by Flagg, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks.

11 of Duke’s final 15 games will be broadcasted on either ABC, FOX, or ESPN, so may we all hope Flagg keeps up his dominant stretch and really grows this sport heading into March. All four Saturdays in February will see Duke in the primetime, with the Blue Devils matching up against North Carolina, Clemson, Stanford, and Illinois. It’s time to fully embrace what Flagg can do for this sport, and when he’s playing at the level he’s at right now, it’s hard not to get excited about the possibilities both for Flagg and this talented Duke team.

Other Things to Note:

• Johni Broome goes down with an injury, #2 Auburn survives South Carolina 66-63
• Curtis Jones’ 26 points leads #3 Iowa State to 85-84 comeback overtime win at Texas Tech
• Mark Sears goes for 27 on the road to lead #5 Alabama past #10 Texas A&M 94-88
• #6 Kentucky beats #14 Mississippi State 95-90 to win tenth straight game in Starkville
• Desmond Claude’s 31 points lead USC to stunning 82-72 win at #13 Illinois
• Ian Martinez converts dramatic four-point play to lead #25 Utah State past Boise State 81-79