Playing without their best player, a defensive leader and an assistant coach, Duke won its third game in three days to take the ACC Tournament championship on Saturday.
The Blue Devils used a 12-0 second half run to pull away from Louisville, 73-62.
Duke got just 15 minutes and two points from Cooper Flagg over the three days. The ACC Player of the Year and the Blue Devils’ leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks went down with a sprained ankle in the first half of Thursday’s game against Georgia Tech and didn’t see the floor again. Duke also lost Maliq Brown, a defensive force, to a dislocated shoulder in Thursday’s first half. The Blue Devils were already playing without assistant coach Jai Lucas, who left the team following the regular season to take a job as Miami’s head coach.
After battling back from a double-digit deficit against the Yellow Jackets and holding off a fierce North Carolina rally in the semifinals, Duke got some much-needed breathing room with a second-half rally against Louisville.
Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel and Sion James all scored double figures in points in the second half, as Duke outscored Louisville 40-24. Proctor finished with a team-high 19 points on six three pointers.
“The shots haven’t been falling for him lately,” said coach Jon Scheyer, “but we knew it was only a matter of time, because he’s a killer.”
Knueppel, voted ACC Tourney MVP, scored 18 for the game.
Duke also put the clamps on the Cardinals on defense, allowing Louisville to shoot just 26% in the second half, including 2-of-14 from three.
“They have great pieces, good length, great size. They’re tough,” said Louisville coach Pat Kelsey. “They play really, really hard. They’re extremely physical. They’re well-coached. All those things go into what makes them a really good defensive team.”
The tournament title was Duke’s second in three years with Scheyer as head coach. The Blue Devils have won the ACC Tournament 23 times in the history of the league. Duke also swept the regular season and tourney titles for the first time since 2010 and the eleventh time in ACC history.
Duke earned the ACC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will likely be the top seed in the East Region when brackets are unveiled on Sunday. Scheyer expects to have Flagg back for the start of March Madness.
“I’m ready to get him back,” he said. “As fun as this was, It’s more fun with #2 suited up. … “Coop hates watching.”
