Cooper Flagg nearly willed Duke basketball to a win on a night the Blue Devils weren’t at their best.
But the opportunity slipped away from Flagg and the second-ranked Blue Devils, who watched Clemson celebrate a 77-71 court-storming win at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Trailing in the final minute against the Tigers (19-5, 11-2), Flagg drove the right wing toward the basket with a chance to tie the game. But he slipped on a wet spot, traveled, and Duke (20-3, 12-1) saw its 16-game winning streak come to an end.
“I think I had a lane. Drove, tried to come to two feet and raise up, and slipped or fell, or whatever happened,” Flagg said.
“There were wet spots all over the court. It was so humid in there, the floor was really holding the water. So there probably was a little wet spot. Just unfortunate. At the end of the day, just got to make a play.”
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HOW CLEMSON UPSET DUKE:What went wrong for Cooper Flagg, Duke basketball in loss at Clemson
Flagg scored 14 of his 18 points in a five-minute stretch during the final six minutes, including a 3-pointer that gave Duke a one-point lead with 58 seconds left. But Clemson made more winning plays in the second half, outscoring the Devils by 12 points in the final 20 minutes.
Flagg, Duke’s freshman phenom, missed 11 of his 17 shots on a rare inefficient night for the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Duke coach Jon Scheyer also said Flagg hasn’t had the same “pop” of late as far as being fully healthy.
“I was definitely cramping throughout the end of the game. I’ve been a little under the weather with a cold, virus or whatever,” Flagg said. “No excuses. I’ve got to be able to play through it. Have to find a way. We still made plays throughout the end of the game, and we’re in a position to win the game. We’ve got to come out and make those plays.”
In its first loss since Thanksgiving week against Kansas in Las Vegas, Duke was out-rebounded by 13 and saw its defense log arguably its worst game of the season. Clemson shot 58% – a season-worst mark for the Blue Devils – and Duke allowed a season-high 40 points in the paint.
“I think that we were a little undisciplined. Our game plan, I didn’t think we stuck to it quite as well as we should have,” Flagg said.
“Checking down rebounds, guards coming in and me, Khaman (Maluach) and Maliq (Brown) really boxing out to recruit rebounds. We weren’t really there (against Clemson). We didn’t do our jobs.”
