College basketball | No. 12 Duke University beat No. 17 University of Arizona 69-55 as freshman Cooper Flagg scores 24 points

TUCSON, Arizona. Cooper Flag He collected 24 points Kon Knueppel They added 13 points on Friday night as the freshmen led No. 12 Duke to defeat No. 17 Arizona 69-55.

Flagg moved into the lane and blocked traffic with one hand, giving the Blue Devils a 46-33 lead with 12:27 left. The preseason All-America pick had 22 points on 10 shooting and added 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

Duke (4-1) never trailed in the second half.

Arizona (2-2), which had two defeats in a row, reduced the difference to 54-48 in the match. jaden bradleyHe had a layup with 5:40 left but couldn’t get any closer. Bradley led the team with 18 points. K.J. Lewis 12 added.

Duke led 34-27 and had a 22-14 rebounding advantage in the first half and closed out the series with a 6-0 run.

takeaway

Duke: The Blue Devils handled their first true road game with poise despite having three freshmen in the starting lineup. The physical performance against a team featuring a pair of 7-footers bodes well for the future.

Arizona: The Wildcats were frustrated by Duke’s size, strength and athleticism and lost several 50-50 battles due to loose possessions and offensive rebounds.

key moment

Knueppel grabbed his own offensive rebound, dribbled into the penalty area and then made a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 42-31 lead with 15:33 left. This was Duke’s first double-digit lead of the night.

Key statistics

Arizona’s Caleb Love – A preseason All-America selection along with Flagg – finished with just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. Love had averaged nearly 17 points per game in his previous eight games against the Blue Devils since his time in North Carolina.

next

Duke plays No. 1 Kansas in Las Vegas on Tuesday, while Arizona plays Davidson in the Bahamas on Wednesday.