Cooper Flagg on Tuesday faltered under the pressure of his first big college basketball game at Duke. Fans online showed him little mercy.
Flagg committed two costly turnovers in the closing seconds of Duke’s 77-72 loss to Kentucky at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. With the game tied at 72, Flagg lost the ball while driving into the paint with under 20 seconds to play.
Flagg had a chance to redeem himself after a pair of Otega Oweh free throws put Kentucky up 74-72. But he ran out of real estate along the baseline and stepped out of bounds.
Cooper Flagg turned the ball over two possessions in a row late in regulation.
No. 19 Kentucky takes down No. 6 Duke 77-72‼️ pic.twitter.com/11fiwuov61
— ESPN (@espn) November 13, 2024
Some fans on social media clowned Flagg for choking in the closing moments against one of Duke’s biggest rivals.
Cooper Flagg rn: pic.twitter.com/iz262Um8B5
— Cameron Magruder (@ScooterMagruder) November 13, 2024
Cooper Flagg with the game on the line pic.twitter.com/LGQJ6ibSs9
— KG (@__NotKG) November 13, 2024
Cooper Flagg with the game on the line pic.twitter.com/3ogHbMMT7l
— Ben Dover (@BenDoverNY42069) November 13, 2024
Others made jokes about Flagg over-dribbling late, which led to the two costly turnovers.
Cooper Flagg with the game on the line. pic.twitter.com/TpdW41j64T
— RRinehart (@RRinehart2012) November 13, 2024
Cooper Flagg with the game on the line pic.twitter.com/wCJVU1wy48
— Biff Poggi’s Burner (@PigtailCons) November 13, 2024
Flagg’s crunch-time mistakes will overshadow what was otherwise a stellar performance from the 17-year-old. The Duke freshman posted 26 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks on 9/19 shooting. He had just one turnover prior to committing two in the final 15 seconds of the contest.
One positive for Duke was that Flagg did not end up dealing with cramps like he did in his previous game against Army.
