ALTHOUGH his decision surrounding nominating for the 2025 NBA Draft is yet to be confirmed, likely number one selection Cooper Flagg was terrific despite his Duke Blue Devils going down to the Houston Cougars in the Final Four yesterday.

Flagg and the Blue Devils were widely expected to take out the NCAA National Tournament, boasting three potential top-10 picks on their roster and looking every bit a champion throughout the 2024/25 season. The Cougars were no easy beats themselves, having also secured the top seed in their own division, but Duke was the toughest assignment in college basketball coming in.

The Blue Devils looked in control of the match for most of the contest, leading by as much as 14 points in the second half. However, Houston restricted Duke to just one field goal in the final 10 and a half minutes of play, in what was the culmination of the defensive coverage that has served it well all season long.

A couple of successful trips to the free throw line down the stretch saw the Cougars take the lead in the final seconds of the match, completing the comeback and booking a spot in the championship game against the Florida Gators

Although it was not the finish to his college season he would have envisioned, Flagg was still a huge presence throughout the game, and helped put his team in a winning position in the first half.

Houston Cougars (70) def. Duke Blue Devils (67)

Cooper Flagg – 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, three blocks

In what is likely his final game in a Duke uniform, Flagg fought valiantly to keep his hopes of being a National Champion alive, and although he missed the go-ahead basket in the dying seconds, the Blue Devils would not have even reached the Final Four if not for his efforts.

It was quite a slow start to the game for Flagg, who found it tough in the opening minutes of the game against the best defensive side in the country. However, he got rolling five and a half minutes into the game with a triple to find the bottom of the net for the first time in the match. He popped up again for a driving dunk to stretch Duke’s lead out to six points before heading to the bench for his first rest of the game.

He came back into the game a few minutes later, and started to truly have an impact on the defensive end, recording his second block of the game and affecting plenty of other shots as well. Although not his best half from an offensive perspective, his defence was in tip top shape, which will certainly impress the NBA sides looking to pick him up in June.

The second half was where Flagg got much more involved with ball in hand, with a clear directive coming out of half time to play more through the star forward. He was consistently looking to get to the basket, and got his team fired up with an and-one jumper to stretch his team’s lead out further.

After finally getting his rhythm on the offensive end with consistent trips to the free throw line and another three-pointer, Flagg was subbed out with his team up by 14 points and 10 minutes remaining on the clock. Unfortunately, that is where the tide turned for the Blue Devils, with the Cougars coming to life in the minutes that followed.

Flagg was subbed back into the contest a couple of minutes later, but his groove had cooled on the scoring front, although he did nail a steadying triple to stop the run from Houston. The Cougars drew within a point on the back of some terrific defence, and Flagg was frustratingly called for a controversial foul on the rebound after a missed free throw, giving the Cougars the lead when they were sent back to the charity stripe.

Trailing by one point, the ball was always going to find its way into Flagg’s hands, and he backed down his opponent to put up a mid-range jumper from the free throw line, but his shot proved to be short and that was enough to get the Cougars to victory.

Despite the result, it was still another outstanding individual performance from Flagg, who has cemented his standing as the best player in the draft class. He finished the match with 27 points, shooting an impressive 3/4 from behind the arc and a perfect 8/8 from the charity stripe, while also starring on the defensive end.