Mar 29, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) celebrates with guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the East Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Through four games in the NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils have thoroughly dismantled each and every one of their opponents.

In the Round of 64 they crushed Mount St. Mary’s by 44 points, and follow that up with the 23-point beatdown of Baylor. Arizona would come the closest, falling by just seven in the Sweet 16, but the Blue Devils rebounded with a 20-point thrashing of Alabama.

Against No. 1 Houston on Saturday, though, Duke will need to brings its A-game. And more specifically, it will need a big performance from its best player in freshman forward Cooper Flagg.

To this point, Flagg, the top projected pick at the 2025 NBA Draft, has been nothing short of a superstar, coming up big again and again for the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils.

On the year, he’s averaged just under 19 points, with 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. And his stats have held true in the postseason, still averaging a highly-elite 19.5 points on 45% shooting overall.

Flagg’s lone slip — if you can call it that — was against second-seeded Alabama, where he shot just 6-for-16 from the field. He was still able to plenty as an all-around force — adding nine rebounds, three assists and one blocks — but lacked some in the scoring department.

Duke wing Kon Knueppel was able to pick up the scoring slack against the Crimson Tide, adding 21 points, but Flagg will almost certainly need to have a bounce-back scoring performance if the team wants to advance past Houston.

The top-seeded Cougars have been similarly dominant so far, seeing a first round blowout and two closer games before blowing out second-seeded Tennessee by 19 points. Where the Blue Devils are fueled by future draft prospects, Houston is too, such as Milos Uzan, Joseph Tugler and Terrance Arceneaux.

Luckily, there’s little reason to doubt Flagg. Even coming off a slower shooting game and heading into a tough matchup. He’s only scored less than 10 points four times all season: the first three coming in November and December, and the last via turned ankle in the ACC Tournament.

The Blue Devils and Cougars tip off at 7:49 p.m. on Saturday, April 5.