Duke Defeats Notre Dame, 86-78; Flagg Sets Freshman Scoring Record

Saturday, January 11

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

14-2,6-0ACC

Notre Dame

7-9,1-4ACC

Notre Dame

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Defeats Notre Dame, 86-78; Flagg Sets Freshman Scoring Record

1/11/2025 2:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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DURHAM, N.C. – Freshman Cooper Flagg set the Duke and ACC freshman scoring records and became the first Blue Devil to score at least 40 points since JJ Redick, pouring in 42 points to lead No. 4 Duke to an 86-78 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The Blue Devils (14-2, 6-0 ACC) weathered a hot-shooting effort by the Fighting Irish (7-9, 1-4 ACC) to eventually extend their winning streak to 10 games – tied for the longest winning streak for Duke under head coach Jon Scheyer.

Flagg was joined in double-figures by his classmates Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel. Maluach also had a career day, scoring a career-high 19 points on 6-of-7 (.857) shooting, while Knueppel connected on multiple three-pointers en route to 13 total points.

A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg also led the team in assists, dishing seven dimes, while Maluach logged a double-double by adding a team-high 10 boards to his 19 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke held Notre Dame scoreless for over three minutes to start the game and led, 8-0, courtesy of an alley-oop slam connection from Cooper Flagg to Khaman Maluach, and three-pointers from Tyrese Proctor and Flagg. Another three-pointer, from Sion James, pushed the to 11-0 and forced a Notre Dame timeout inside the first four minutes of the contest.
Two free throws at the 15:18 mark gave the visitors their first points of the game and a three-pointer less than 30 seconds later cut Duke's lead to 9, 14-5. Patrick Ngongba II connected on a hook shot in the paint to put the Blue Devils back in front by double-digits, 23-12, out of the under-12 media timeout.
Kon Knueppel scored eight quick points to make the score 31-18 in favor of the Blue Devils with just over eight minutes before halftime. Flagg became the first player in double-figures with two free throws shortly after, increasing the margin to 15, 34-19.
Notre Dame closed the first half making six of eight shots from the field and Duke led by eight, 44-36. Flagg and Maluach scored Duke's first eight points of the second half, but the visitors remained hot from beyond the arc and drew within six, 52-46. Five fast points, including Flagg's fourth three-pointer of the afternoon, quickly put Duke back in front by 11, 57-46, at the first media timeout of the second half.
After a thunderous dunk in the lane, Flagg scored his 26th point with a floater in the lane, matching his career high. Two makes from the charity stripe on Duke's next possession gave the freshman a new career high and the Blue Devils a 63-51 lead.
A three-point-play by Flagg gave the freshman 34 points and a jumper on Duke's next trip down the floor gave him the Duke freshman scoring record, surpassing the 35-point showings by Zion Williamson and Jared McCain.
At the final media timeout, Duke led by 18, 79-61. Flagg continued the scoring performance, knocking down two free throws to become the first Duke player to reach the 40-point threshold since JJ Redick did so against Virginia on Jan. 28, 2006.
Flagg and Maluach each put in two more free throws to help ice the win, 86-78.

NOTES

Saturday's game was the 40th played between the two teams. Duke now leads the series, 32-8, including a 12-2 edge in Durham.
Duke has now won 10 straight games, the third-longest active winning streak in the nation.
The 10-game winning streak is tied for the longest by a Duke team under head coach Jon Scheyer.
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils are now 303-92 (.767) in ACC regular-season games when ranked as a top-five team in the country.
Duke improved its record to 29-7 when playing on Jan. 11, including a 16-2 ledger at home, and has won 13 of its last 14 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, including four in a row.
The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle, 34-21, and have out-rebounded 13 of their first 16 opponents this season.
Duke collected 26 points in the paint, compared to 16 by the Fighting Irish. The Blue Devils have out-scored the opposition in the paint in 14 of their 16 games and have posted a double-digit margin in that category nine times this season.
The Blue Devils held the Fighting Irish to just two fast-break points. Duke opponents have logged single-digit fast-break points in all but two games this season.
As a team, Duke shot 30-of-35 (.857) from the free throw line, setting new records under Scheyer for made free throws and free throw attempts.
The Blue Devils began the game on a 14-0 scoring run, its largest burst to open a game so far this season. Notre Dame was held scoreless for the first 4:42 of the game and without a field goal across the first 5:17 of the contest.
Between the end of the Pittsburgh game and the beginning of the Notre Dame contest, Duke's defense held the Panthers and Fighting Irish without a point for 12:40 combined minutes and scored 32 straight points.
Duke wore the Cameron Brotherhood uniforms on Saturday afternoon, marking the five-year anniversary of the template's debut. The Blue Devils first wore the Brotherhood jersey on Jan. 11, 2020, against Wake Forest.
Cooper Flagg scored 42 points, the most by a freshman in Duke and ACC history. Flagg became the first Duke player to score at least 40 points since JJ Redick did so against Virginia on Jan. 28, 2006.
The 42 total points are the most by a Duke player in a game since Danny Ferry's 58-point performance at Miami on Dec. 10, 1988.
Flagg finished the game 11-of-14 (.786) from the field and 16-of-17 (.941) from the free throw line.
Flagg joins only Redick as Duke players to score at least 40 points while attempting 14 or fewer field goals. Redick accomplished the feat in his 40-point game against Virginia.
With his 16 made free throws, Flagg broke Duke's freshman record, surpassing Wendell Moore Jr.'s previous benchmark of 15 at Wake Forest on Feb. 25, 2020.
The 42 points scored in Cameron Indoor Stadium is tied for third-most by a Duke player in the building and the most since the 1975-76 season. Tate Armstrong was the most recent to do so, scoring 42 against Clemson on Feb. 5, 1976.
Flagg is one of just three Blue Devils to score at least 42 on Duke's home floor, joining Armstrong (1975-76) and Dick Groat (1951-52, twice).
The freshman logged a career-high four makes from beyond the arc. Flagg had made two shots from deep in five different games so far this season and finished the game 4-of-6 on three-pointers.
Flagg finished with six rebounds and matched his career high for assists with seven. He joins Ferry as the only two players in Duke history with at least 40 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Khaman Maluach scored a career-high 19 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. The freshman had previously set a career high with 17 points against UIW.
Maluach tallied his second double-double of the season, after grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
Kon Knueppel rounded out Duke's double-digit scoring with 13 points. The freshman connected on two three-pointers, was 5-of-6 (.833) from the free-throw line and dished five assists.
Knueppel has now made multiple three-pointers in each of Duke's last five games.

QUOTES

"First, I would just like to say hats off to Notre Dame and Coach Shrews [Micah Shrewsberry]. I think he's a terrific coach. I think what they're building is really good. It's built on having a really competitive team. They play modern basketball. They go after matchups. They spread you on offense. They do a really good job. I think their record is incredibly misleading. When you play half the games without [Markus] Burton, you're going to be a different team. And they've been right there in a lot of them. So, we had a ton of respect for these guys coming in. I thought the way we started was great. It's a little bit of a gift and a curse because of what's happened with the margin of victory over the last few games for us. I think we have to fight the human nature of thinking it's just going to happen. For us, I think to play in a tight game was really good, because you have to make plays and feel the value of every possession on the defensive end and offensive end. I thought we had some uncharacteristic turnovers down the stretch, and so I thought it was a great experience. Really, really good win for us. Obviously, Cooper had an all-time special performance. The stats speak for itself with 42 [points], six [rebounds] and seven [assists]. He got fouled 13 times, but more than that, I thought it was just his timing of key plays. Anytime we needed a basket, he came through. The will throughout, he just willed us. The fact that it translated to 42 is great, but to me, it was just his competitiveness and the timing of his key plays." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
"From the start, they were off me, just leaving me open in the corner a couple times early. I'm going to take the open shots and make the right play, and tonight I was putting the ball in the basket. I feel like this is one of my more aggressive performances. coming out ready, on fire, from the start. I have to give the credit to my teammates. They were getting me open looks from the jump." - Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg
"He's (Cooper Flagg) not forcing anything. He had 40 and didn't force a single shot, didn't force a single play. You might not even notice him sometimes, but we always realize that he's one of the best players in the country. He's an incredible asset to have. He's being himself and that's the magic of Cooper Flagg. He's not forcing anything. He's just being a player and taking the looks as they come. He saw some he liked and 42 points later, here we are." - Duke graduate guard Sion James

UP NEXT

No. 4 Duke closes out a three-game homestand, battling Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Blue Devils (14-2, 6-0 ACC) and Hurricanes (4-11, 0-4 ACC) tipoff inside Cameron Indoor Stadium at 9 p.m., on ESPN.

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