Tyrese Proctor is the one remaining Duke starter from the Blue Devils’ Elite 8 run final yr.
They misplaced in a heartbreaker to convention opponent NC State, who went on a Cinderella run to the Closing 4. Proctor struggled within the 76-64 defeat, taking pictures 0-9 from the sphere and completed with a zero within the field rating.
However on this yr’s event, Proctor put all of it behind him.
He posted a 19-point, 5 help evening towards Mount St. Mary’s within the opening spherical, however saved his greatest for the subsequent spherical.
Towards a proficient crew of draft prospects and veteran gamers, together with Cooper Flagg’s former highschool level guard Rob Wright and former Duke guard Jeremy Roach, the Australian junior was unconscious on Sunday afternoon.
Proctor scored a team-high 25 factors on 9-10 taking pictures from the sphere and drained seven triples to steer the top-seeded Blue Devils to an 89-66 rout over the Baylor Bears, incomes a visit to the Candy 16.
Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg—who graced the quilt of SLAM—completed with a close to triple-double, posting 18 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Consultants and followers alike can lastly agree that it’s secure to say the ankle harm isn’t bothering him anymore.
Kon Knueppel rounded out Duke’s double-digit scorers, dropping 12 factors on an environment friendly 4-5 from the sphere.
Projected lottery choose VJ Edgecombe led the Bears with 16 factors, whereas Norchad Omier’s consecutive double-double streak of 10 video games lastly got here to a detailed. The Miami switch completed with 15 factors and 9 rebounds. Langston Love and Wright every completed with 11 factors and Roach contributed seven factors off the bench towards his former crew.
The sport was tightly contested for almost all of the primary half. Neither crew may draw back from each other, protecting any result in inside single digits. Nevertheless, the wheels fell off for Baylor in direction of the tip of the opening body.
With Duke clinging to a 35-30 lead with three minutes left within the first half, the Blue Devils went on a 12-0 run to enter halftime up 17.
Flagg scored a layup, dunk and drained a 3, Sion James and Patrick Ngongba made free throws and Caleb Foster hit a jumper to crush any momentum Baylor had.
“Once we stick with our protection, stick with our habits, we’re a very arduous crew to attain on. As soon as we began getting unfastened balls and rebounds, we may push in transition and play our offense,” Proctor mentioned.
Baylor may by no means get well from the momentum shift. Duke outscored the Bears 42-36 within the second half, and maintained a double-digit lead for your complete 20 minutes of play.
The Blue Devils dominated on the offensive finish, taking pictures 64.4% from the sphere and 54.5% from deep. In addition they transformed 19 free throws at an 82.6% clip. On the defensive finish, they held the Bears to 36.8% taking pictures from the sphere and 32% from deep. They performed bodily on-ball protection, contesting with out fouling, solely permitting 10 free throw makes an attempt for Baylor. Solely two Baylor gamers—Omier and Edgecombe—shot above 50% from the sphere for the sport.
“To win by this margin, I feel speaks to the extent of killer intuition that our guys have, the competitiveness and the connectivity,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer mentioned. “Candy 16 sounds nice, we all know it’s a fast turnaround, however we’re going to take pleasure in this one tonight after which get again to it.”
Duke will now face off towards a well-known foe donning a distinct jersey. The Blue Devils will tackle Caleb Love and the Arizona Wildcats within the Candy 16 on Thursday.
