Cooper Flagg dunk of the year candidate seals Duke basketball blowout victory

Cooper Flagg has churned out highlights all season long for the Duke basketball team but on Tuesday night he showcased his best.

The Blue Devils were leading 37-26 early in the second half against Pittsburgh and the rookie sent Cameron Indoor Stadium into a complete frenzy, one that the historic arena hasn’t seen on a dunk since Zion Williamson, with a steal and score that put Panthers forward Guillermo Diaz Grahm in a position he has never been in throughout his basketball career.

Flagg rose above the 7-footer to absorb contact and throw down the dunk of the year in college basketball.

He capped off the sequence by making the free throw and essentially ended the game. There was no way Pittsburgh could recover after Duke built the 14-point lead.

Flagg would finish with 19 points in the 76-47 victory while adding 10 rebounds and five assists on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He landed another dunk a few possessions later in which defenders quickly got out of his way as he turned the corner down the lane.

The game was another example how Duke (13-2, 5-0 ACC) is in a class of its own among the rest of the ACC teams, beating its last two foes – SMU and Pittsburgh – by a combined 56 points. Each had aspirations entering its game with the Blue Devils of competing at the top of the regular season standings before being quickly proven that this team is in a weight class of its own.

Duke held the Panthers (12-3, 3-1 ACC) without a point for the final 7:55 of the game, turning its modest 11-point lead into a laugher by the time the final buzzer sounded.

Each member of the starting five for the Blue Devils scored at least 10 points while the bench combined to score a total of six points.

It was the beginning of a three-game home stand for Duke, which will host Notre Dame (7-7, 1-2 ACC) on Saturday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the 5-time National Champions are the only undefeated team remaining in the ACC following Clemson’s loss to Louisville.