With the NCAA Tournament fewer than four weeks away, the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils are in top form.
They are coming off their most dominant win of the season, a 110-67 rout of the Illinois Fighting Illini at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, led by freshman wonder Cooper Flagg.
Flagg ended with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in just 23 minutes of play. With the victory, Duke has now won 20 of their previous 21 games and is 24-3 overall, leading the ACC with only four games remaining.
On Monday, more good news surfaced as the ACC named Flagg Rookie of the Week for the 11th time this season, making him the freshman with the most Rookie of the Week titles in ACC basketball history. He has now passed former Blue Devils legend Jabari Parker for the record.
Along with Parker, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson each received ten Rookie of the Week awards. Parker was picked following his freshman season in 2014, thus the three had held the record for more than a decade.
Flagg earned the honors again because, in addition to his outstanding effort against Illinois, he also had 17 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks in an 80-62 away victory over Virginia.
The Maine star averages 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, shooting 48.6% from the field and 37.3% from three.
The anticipated first overall pick in the NBA draft leads the Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. He is now in a two-horse fight for National Player of the Year, joining Auburn forward Johni Broome, whose Tigers are now rated first in the country.
