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Duke Blue Devils Basketball

Breaking: Duke History, Generates Player of the Year Buzz in Win vs. ND but……

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Behind another spectacular performance from superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils improved to 14-2 on the season with an 86-78 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Saturday.

Flagg, who entered the game leading Duke in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, finished with 42 points on 11-of-14 shooting, plus seven assists and six rebounds Saturday, as the Blue Devils moved to 6-0 in ACC play.

It was a historic showing for Flagg, who set Duke’s single-game freshman scoring record, which was previously shared by Zion Williamson and Jared McCain:

By virtue of his dominance, Flagg received a ton of hype on social media as a strong contender for the National Player of the Year Award from Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman and others:

The ACC Rookie of the Year front-runner and NPOY candidate was red hot out of the gate Saturday, knocking down three trifectas in the first seven minutes for a Duke team that jumped out to a 14-0 lead:

Three-point shooting has arguably been the only weak point of Flagg’s game this season, as he entered the day shooting only 30.8 percent from deep, but his four three-balls made Saturday represented a new season and career high.

Flagg has also been much better from long range lately, knocking down eight of his 16 attempts in five games prior to Saturday’s contest.

With Flagg slowly but surely adding an improved three-point shot to his already impressive skill set, fans showered him with praise on social media Saturday:

Flagg had 15 points by halftime, but he was even better over the final 20 minutes, pouring in 27 more points.

As a team, Duke shot 53.3 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line, compared to 49.1 percent and 62.5 percent, respectively, for Notre Dame. The Blue Devils also won the rebounding battle 32-22.

Notre Dame stayed in it by shooting 63.6 percent from downtown compared to 33.3 percent for Duke, but Flagg excelled in that department, making four of his six three-pointers.

Flagg and Duke will look to extend their winning streak to 11 when they host Miami on Tuesday.

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