TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 24 points, Kon Knueppel added 13 and the pair of freshmen led No. 12 Duke past No. 17 Arizona 69-55 on Friday night.
Flagg drove the lane and threw down a one-handed jam in traffic to give the Blue Devils a 46-33 lead with 12:27 left. The preseason All-America pick shot 10 of 22 from the field and added six rebounds and three assists.
Duke (4-1) never trailed in the second half.
Arizona (2-2), which has lost two straight, cut the margin to 54-48 on Jaden Bradley’s layup with 5:40 left but couldn’t get closer. Bradley led the team with 18 points, while KJ Lewis added 12.
Duke led 34-27 and had a 22-14 rebounding advantage at halftime, closing on a 6-0 run.
Takeaways
Duke: The Blue Devils handled their first true road game with poise despite having three freshmen in the starting lineup. The physical performance against a team with a pair of 7-footers bodes well for the future.
Arizona: The Wildcats were bothered by Duke’s size, strength and athleticism, losing lots of 50-50 battles for loose balls and offensive rebounds.
Key moment
Knueppel grabbed his own offensive rebound, dribbled out to the perimeter and then hit a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 42-31 lead with 15:33 left. It was Duke’s first double-digit lead of the night.
Key stat
Arizona’s Caleb Love — a preseason All-America selection along with Flagg — finished with just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. Love averaged nearly 17 points per game in eight previous games against the Blue Devils, dating back to his time at North Carolina.
Up next
Duke plays No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and Arizona plays Davidson on Wednesday in the Bahamas.
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