Flagg finished 8 of 14 shooting and hit all nine of his free-throw attempts in Duke’s blowout win over Cal
Cooper Flagg scored his fourth-highest point total of the season on Thursday, leading No. 3 Duke to a 78-59 victory over Cal. Flagg shot 8 of 14 and made all nine of his free throw tries, leading all scores as the Blue Devils (21-3, 13-1 ACC) got back on track.
Following a painful setback at Clemson on Saturday, Duke and Flagg found solace in a stress-free victory over the Bears. Flagg added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the win.
Among the things we saw from Duke and Flagg in the win was a strategy for attacking a zone defense. With Cal hunting for solutions in the first half, coach Mark Madsen deployed a 2-3 zone defense against the Blue Devils. Almost all teams struggle to match Duke’s size and ability, so it’s a chance to shake things up and throw the Blue Devils off guard.
Duke figured it out fast. During one sequence, Maliq Brown efficiently shut off the low-man in Cal’s defense, allowing Flagg to make a clean catch and easy dunk. There are no easy ways to contain a player of his ability, not even a zone.
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