Cooper Flagg, No. 2 Duke Blow Out Syracuse as ACC Dominance Impresses CBB Fans

The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils just keep rolling.

Duke improved to 20-2 overall and a perfect 12-0 in ACC play with an 83-54 victory over a struggling Syracuse team on Wednesday at JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange dropped to 10-13 overall and 4-8 in the conference.

All eyes are on Cooper Flagg every time he takes the floor, and the star freshman finished with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.

He was one of five Blue Devils to score in double figures, including Tyrese Proctor (16 points) and Isaiah Evans (10 points, four assists and three rebounds).

J.J. Starling led the way for the Orange with 12 points, but social media was focused on the victorious showing from Flagg and his teammates:

Historically, Duke and Syracuse is an intriguing matchup with legendary coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim. However, the programs are in two very different places following their retirements with the Blue Devils unblemished in conference play with one of the nation’s best players in Flagg.

They were also coming off a blowout win over archrival North Carolina and entered play with no shortage of momentum.

That momentum didn’t go anywhere out of the gates, as the visitors controlled play in the first half on the way to a commanding 14-point lead at intermission. They used a balanced attack to build that lead with Proctor finding his stroke from deep and Kon Knueppel consistently getting to the free-throw line.

Being able to create separation without Flagg doing too much of the heavy lifting underscores how dangerous this Blue Devils team can be by March because they don’t need the likely No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft to carry them on a nightly basis.

Syracuse was within striking distance at the start of the second half, but that quickly changed.

Duke continued to pull away with impressive ball movement on the offensive side to go with swarming defense that created a number of turnovers and prevented the Orange from creating many open looks.

Flagg also brought the Blue Devils bench to its feet with a monster slam and block on back-to-back plays, reminding everyone in attendance he can dazzle at a moment’s notice even if he isn’t going for 30-plus points.

The majority of the second half was a formality as Duke drained the energy from the crowd.

Saturday’s trip to Clemson figures to be more challenging since the Tigers are in second place in the ACC at 10-2 with an opportunity to make up ground with a head-to-head showdown.