CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — Without ACC Player and Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and key reserve Maliq Brown, No. 1 Duke found themselves down 38-33 to No. 13 Louisville at halftime of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship Saturday night.
But the Blue Devils showed why they’re the top-ranked team in the country, using a second-half surge to come from behind and beat the second-seeded Cardinals 73-62 for their 23rd ACC Tournament title. It’s their second league championship under third-year coach Jon Scheyer after winning it in 2023.
Veteran guard Tyrese Proctor scored 19 points — all but one on three-pointers — for Duke (31-3), the event’s top seed. Kon Knueppel scored 18 points and had eight rebounds for the Blue Devils, who are in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and could play their first and second round games at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
The Cardinals’ Terrence Edwards Jr. led all scorers with 29 points and also pulled down six rebounds, while his backcourt mate Chucky Hepburn scored 14 points in the losing effort. Louisville (27-7), led by the ACC’s Coach of the Year Pat Kelsey, entered the game against Duke on an 11-game winning streak and head into the NCAA Tournament having lost just twice since Feb. 1.
Flagg hurt his ankle and Brown injured his shoulder on Thursday during the Blue Devils’ quarterfinal round win over Georgia Tech. But earlier Saturday, both the school and the ACC notified the NCAA selection committee that Flagg would be available for the NCAA Tournament.
Duke’s conference tournament title comes less than a week after the Duke women won their respective ACC Tournament, topping Triangle rival NC State 76-62 in Greensboro last Sunday.