No. 1 seed Duke rolls past Mount St. Mary's 93-49 to open NCAAs in Flagg's return from injury
Flagg had 14 points and seven boards for the Blue Devils (32-3), the East bracket headliner opening a push for a sixth national title roughly a half-hour's drive from its Durham campus. Duke jumped to a 13-2 lead in a dominant first half marked by clean execution on the way to a big lead.
The Blue Devils cooled after the break, but finished at 50% shooting with 14 3-pointers to cruise toward a second-round date with Baylor. Proctor went 6 for 8 from deep.
The 18-year-old Flagg — a top NBA prospect and unanimous Associated Press first-team All-American — missed the last two games of Duke's run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title after rolling his left ankle in the quarterfinals against Georgia Tech. He looked comfortable in this one, including when he finished an and-1 drive that left him on his back in the opening flurry and later when he cut backdoor to take Patrick Ngongba's feed and dunk it home.
Duke led 54-28 by halftime after shooting 60.6% while committing just one turnover.
Arlandus Keyes scored 15 points for the 16th-seeded Mountaineers (23-13), the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs who beat American in Wednesday's First Four. Mount St. Mary's shot 30.2% from the field, including 5 for 27 on 3s.
Takeaways
Mount St. Mary's: This was the Mountaineers' seventh trip to March Madness, the first six coming as a member of the Northeast Conference. They fell to 0-5 in the first round, all against No. 1 seeds — including one in this building exactly 17 years ago against another nearby ACC school (North Carolina). This was the program's first NCAA trip since the Indianapolis-bubbled 2021 tournament during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Duke: The Blue Devils won the ACC outright regular-season and tournament titles for the first time since 2006, though Flagg's health (and an injury to versatile defender Maliq Brown) was the major storyline. This was a good start to the NCAAs for a team that has lost just once since November.
Up next
Sunday's game against the ninth-seeded Bears marks a reunion with former Duke guard Jeremy Roach, who transferred to Baylor after last season.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Aaron Beard, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Quenton Nelson on another QB switch: I'd be lying if I said it wasn't frustrating
Quenton Nelson was selected at No. 6 overall in the 2018 draft. A Pro Bowler in each of his seven seasons, Nelson played in front of Andrew Luck as a rookie. But since then, he's seen 10 different starting quarterbacks come and go. Now, Daniel Jones is set to be No. 11 since Luck's retirement after Indianapolis named him QB1 for the 2025 season over Anthony Richardson on Tuesday. Nelson admitted to reporters after the announcement that it has been frustrating that the Colts have had to keep changing quarterbacks throughout his career. 'I would say so. I think I'd be lying if I said it wasn't [frustrating],' Nelson said, via James Boyd of 'You look around the league and see just the consistency of having a Patrick Mahomes or a quarterback behind you that's been the franchise player for years and years and years, and getting to build that chemistry with that quarterback year after year is something that there is an advantage to when it comes to O-line play. 'So, to answer your question, yeah.' Nelson, who has missed just four games in his career and has played in every contest since 2022, noted that he's gotten used to the changes. He's not making more of it than what it is. 'Since we signed Daniel, we knew that this was going to be a big decision for Shane [Steichen] and the front office to make,' Nelson said. 'And nothing really changes for us. We're still going to come to work, do our jobs, still support both guys. But it's nothing completely new to us.' We'll see how Jones performs once the games start, as Richardson will still be a snap away from getting back on the field to play for Indianapolis.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Mavericks' Cooper Flagg ranked among the top small forwards for 2025-26 season
After debuting last month in the NBA Summer League, Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg is projected to be among the top small forwards for the 2025-26 season. Flagg logged two appearances with the Mavericks, averaging 20.5 points, five rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals on 35.7% shooting from the field. He produced 31 points and four rebounds in his final appearance on July 12 against the San Antonio Spurs. The No. 1 pick logged 62 minutes in the desert, showcasing each element of his game that made him so highly touted out of Duke. He has everything needed to help the Mavericks now, a key reason why HoopsHype ranked him 20th on its list of top small forwards for next season. Flagg has fantastic size and length (he measured in at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine), the skill to handle the ball and knock down tough shots from all three levels, great athleticism and, maybe most importantly, elite competitiveness, which should help him make a huge impact on the defensive end, possibly as early as in his rookie season. Flagg is viewed as a generational prospect on the court and enters next season with tremendous hype as the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year. He is projected to play a key role as a first-year player, and the Mavericks are eager to see him take the court. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said the team is going to ask a lot of him during the upcoming season to maximize his development. They will experiment with him playing on and off the ball to ensure he can impact games in various ways. Kidd believes Flagg landed in a good situation with the Mavericks, given their mixture of veterans and young players. The organization is hopeful that Flagg can have a smooth transition to the NBA and help the team make another deep playoff run.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Short-handed Fever suffer another blow as Sophie Cunningham sustains season-ending injury
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The injury-riddled Indiana Fever suffered another blow Tuesday when they announced guard Sophie Cunningham would miss the rest of this season with a knee injury. She was hurt during Sunday's victory at Connecticut. Team officials did not provide details about the injury, the third season-ending one Indiana has experienced in August. Guard Sydney Colson tore the ACL in her left knee on Aug. 7 in a game at Phoenix. Guard Aari McDonald broke a bone in her right foot in the same game. And two-time All-Star guard Caitlin Clark still has not played since injuring her right groin in mid-July. Coach Stephanie White has not provided a timetable for Clark's return other than to say the Fever hope that Clark returns before the regular-season finale Sept. 9 against Minnesota. With so many key players out, the outspoken Cunningham played a key role in helping Indiana stay in the playoff mix. She was averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals. Indiana also announced it has signed Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract. The six-year veteran was averaging 5.0 points and 2.7 assists in six games with the Los Angeles Sparks. She also has played with Phoenix and Washington during her career. The Fever also released guard Kyra Lambert. ___ AP WNBA: The Associated Press
