– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — Despite his undeniable super powers he possesses on the court, Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg has never needed to be Superman for this stacked Blue Devils team, and he was far from at his best with the Final Four at stake. But Durham’s version of the Justice League got contributions all over the floor from each superstar to ensure their march to college basketball’s Valhalla will include a stop in San Antonio .
Four players scored in double figures for Duke, including Flagg and his 16 points and nine rebounds, as the Blue Devils stymied Alabama’s high-powered offense in an 85-65 victory inside the Prudential Center in Newark to advance to the school’s 18th Final Four appearance.
Duke’s fellow freshmen also took their star turns, with Kon Knueppel leading the Blue Devils with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, and big man Khaman Maluach, like Flagg, coming just a rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Unlike Flagg and his fellow neophytes, who needed just one year in Durham to make it to the Final Four, head coach Jon Scheyer will be making his first national semifinal as a head coach after replacing the legendary Mike Krzyzewski at the end of the 2022 season, the last Final Four the Blue Devils reached before today’s win.
“Couldn’t be more proud of the team as a whole. Their attitudes the whole season, from day one, I think this group has been different,” Scheyer said. “They make fun of me. I keep telling them, don’t change. Don’t change, keep being them. I thought the story tonight against an incredible offense — and [Alabama head coach Nate Oats] does an amazing job with their offense and the way they play, it’s like nobody else. To hold them to 65 points is incredible.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday’s East Regional final, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Danny Suriel and Scott Rausenberger. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 27 pictures in total.
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