Duke might have proved more in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament across three days than in the four months prior.
So that’s saying something pretty good for the country’s No. 1 team.
The demise of the Blue Devils didn’t occur in Charlotte, where they cut down the nets after pushing their ACC tournament championship total to a record 23.
In summary, it might go down as “no Cooper Flagg, no worries” for Duke.
The Blue Devils will go into the NCAA Tournament on an 11-game winning streak and as one of the favorites to win it all.
Flagg’s sprained ankle dominated the conversation regarding the Blue Devils. By all accounts, the freshman standout will be ready to go in the next tournament — and that’s all that seemed to matter when it was determined he would sit out the last two days of the ACC event.
It’s not as simple as saying the Blue Devils didn’t miss a beat. They could have used Flagg’s scoring, passing and rebounding, no doubt.
They ended up bolstering their stock because they won without him.
“We didn’t need any Superman performances or anything like that,” freshman guard Kon Knueppel said. “Everybody just stepped up and added to the team.”
The 73-62 outcome in the ACC tournament final against Louisville gave the Blue Devils another double-figure victory — something that became the norm with regular-season blowouts. Their first two wins in Charlotte came by eight and three points.
The Blue Devils showed plenty in winning without Flagg on the court, though their depth might have been exposed to some degree. They used three reserves before a last-minute courtesy substitution in the Louisville game.
The Louisville game was notable in that it marked the first time since early December that Duke played a ranked team. And while Clemson ended up No. 10 at the end of the regular season, Duke lost to the Tigers in early February.
So, until clipping the Cardinals on Saturday night, the Blue Devils’ last victory against a ranked opponent came more than three months ago.
Of course, no one would be surprised to learn that a Duke freshman was the tournament’s most valuable player. It’s Knueppel who holds that distinction.
Along the way, it became clear — if there weren’t already heavy hints throughout the season — that Knueppel would have been a marquee player throughout the season if he weren’t playing in Flagg’s shadow.
Knueppel averages 14.2 points per game. He has exceeded that number in the last five games.
The Blue Devils claimed the top ACC prize, but it hasn’t come without anxiety. Remember, if they hadn’t beaten North Carolina in Chapel Hill to conclude the regular season, they would have gone to Charlotte with the No. 3 seed for the tournament.
And counting the last game of the regular season, Duke has trailed in the second halves of three of its last four games.
The exception was the ACC semifinal against North Carolina, when a lane violation on the Tar Heels in the waning seconds negated a tying free throw. So, the Blue Devils were never behind after halftime in that one — and it turned out to be the game that might have been most in jeopardy in the late stages.
But they dealt with that drama, the Flagg fallout and just about everything else they’ve encountered this season.
“It says a lot about our team and our toughness and says a lot about other guys stepping up in big moments,” freshman center Khaman Maluach said.
Now what matters is how the Blue Devils handle the big stage that’s still ahead of them.
