College basketball rankings: Thanks to Cooper Flagg, Duke is carrying the torch for struggling ACC

Posted by Admin December 18, 2024 Basketball

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The ACC being down has become a real storyline of this season. The conference now ranks fifth nationally and is closer in quality to the Mountain West or West Coast Conference than it is the SEC, Big Ten or Big 12, according to KenPom.com.

That’s not good.

But don’t blame Duke!

After starting 4-2 with losses to Kentucky and Kansas, the Blue Devils have reeled off five straight wins to improve to 9-2 with victories over Auburn, Arizona and Louisville. The latest triumph came Tuesday, when Duke beat George Mason 68-47 behind a 24-point, nine-rebound, four-assist, three-steal, one-block effort from freshman star Cooper Flagg.

“I loved Cooper’s aggressiveness,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “Thought Cooper was really aggressive — putting pressure on the defense. I think for many young guys, you get caught up in percentages and numbers sometimes. And for him, he was a warrior out there, with 24 [points], nine [rebounds], and four [assists]. I think that comes with his competitive spirit and being in attack mode. We need him that way. We have to help him be that way all the time.”

Flagg continues to lead Duke in points per game (16.6), rebounds per game (9.0), assists per game (3.6), steals per game (1.6) and blocks per game (1.4). He’s the main reason the Blue Devils are No. 5 in Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Tennessee remains No. 1 for the 14th consecutive day.

Next up for Duke is Saturday’s game with Georgia Tech.

The Blue Devils are now the only ACC school in the Top 25 And 1. For some some context, understand that there are now 10 SEC schools in the Top 25 And 1 — specifically No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 4. Kentucky, No. 6 Alabama, No. 8 Florida, No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 17 Mississippi State, No. 25 Oklahoma and No. 26 Georgia.

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