On Tuesday night, the ACC’s projected winner, Duke, lost its first game on the season.
The No. 6 Blue Devils fell to No. 19 Kentucky in the Champions Classic in Atlanta, in a great back-and-forth game. Early on, Duke looked to freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel for scoring production. After Flagg picked up his second foul early, he headed to the bench, but the Blue Devils still maintained the lead behind Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor, and others.
In the second, half, Flagg, Knueppel, Proctor, and big man Khaman Maluach led the way for Duke, however, Kentucky held on to the game just long enough. In the final minutes of the second half, Kentucky’s Andrew Carr (Wake Forest transfer) and Otega Oweh made big play after big play and re-gained the lead for the ‘Cats, led by first-year head coach Mark Pope.
Then, with the game tied and a chance to take the lead with less than 15 seconds to play, the rookie phenom Flagg turned the ball over, dribbling into traffic and having his pocket picked by Oweh. After two Kentucky free throws took the lead, Flagg once again tried to score the tying, or winning, bucket. He fumbled the ball into the corner while trying to break down his defender, and the Wildcats won the game.
Flagg finished with 26 points on 9-f0r-19 shooting, going 1 for 5 from three-point range. Knueppel went 5 for 20 from the field and scored 14. Maluach was 5 for 5 with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Duke will host Pitt on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the second-straight season.
This Pittsburgh Sports news how? If I want to read about Duke, I have national news options. How about more Pitt volleyball or soccer stories if you need content? Two exceptional local teams you rarely even mention