Close call for Cooper Flagg: 3 takeaways from Duke basketball’s win over Florida State
Bloodied, dazed but not knocked out, Cooper Flagg and No. 2 Duke continued their onslaught of the ACC on Saturday night.
Despite missing the final 11 minutes of the first half after being hit in the eye, Flagg scored 16 points as the Blue Devils pounded Florida State, 100-65, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (26-3, 17-1 ACC) moved closer to wrapping up the ACC regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament in Charlotte. The Blue Devils will clinch at least a share of the regular-season title with a win in Monday night’s home finale against Wake Forest.
A 6-9 freshman forward who leads Duke in scoring and rebounding, Flagg twice went to the bench in the first half after being hit in the face. The first time he was cut under his nose. The second time he was hit in the eye with 11:27 left in the half. He did not return until the second half.
After scoring four points his truncated first half, Flagg played 13 minutes after halftime, adding 12 points.
Duke easily handled Florida State (16-13, 7-11 ACC) even with its star freshman missing playing time thanks to his classmates. Freshman Isaiah Evans led Duke with 19 points while Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach each scored 14 points.
The Blue Devils shot just 43.8%, but only turned the ball over four times, matching their season low. Florida State shot 38.6%.
Here are three takeaways from Duke’s latest lopsided win:
New lineup, same result
For the first time since late November, the Blue Devils used a different starting five. With Proctor out, Evans moved into the starting five along with Flagg, Knueppel, Sion James and Maluach.
It’s the first career start for Evans. Proctor had started along with Flagg, Knueppel, James and Maluach in Duke’s past 21 games. The Blue Devils were 20-1.
Proctor had started Duke’s first 28 games this season, and 37 in a row dating back to last season, but was not in uniform against Florida State.
Saturday night’s lineup was only the third different starting five Duke has used this season.
Odd combos in first half
Duke led by 17 points at halftime despite shooting only 38.1%. It did so while using unusual five-man units thanks to Proctor, Brown and Flagg being out. Freshman forward Darren Harris, who had only appeared in 17 games and played 5.6 minutes per outing this season, played 5:12 of the first half.
Even with all that going on, Duke played turnover-free basketball in the first half and won the rebounding battle, 26-21. Mason Gillis, averaging 4.4 points per game, had nine first-half points to lead the Blue Devils.
Dominant Duke rebounding
The Blue Devils finished with 49 rebounds to Florida State’s 32. That included a season-high 21 offensive rebounds, which helped Duke gain a 17-5 edge in second-chance points.
Maluach grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds as he recorded a double-double. Flagg and James each finished with six rebounds as every Duke player who saw action over the game’s first 30 minutes had at least one rebound.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM.