Duke basketball cruised to an 86-78 victory at home over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-9, 1-4 ACC) to improve to 14-2 on the season and 6-0 in ACC play.
This is the first time an ACC opponent has come within single digits of Duke in a game this season.
Behind the victory was a record-breaking performance from Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, and if this outing doesn't prove Flagg is the best player in the country, I don't know what does.
Flagg rocked Cameron Indoor for an insane 42 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists on 11-of-14 shooting from the field, 4-of-6 shooting from the three point line, and 16-of-17 from the free throw line.
His 42 points are the most ever by a Duke basketball freshman, the first 40-point performance by a Duke Blue Devil since JJ Redick dropped 41 against Georgetown in January 2006, and an all-time ACC freshman scoring record.
Before anything is continued, let it serve as a reminder that Flagg turned 18 years old less than a month ago.
It's been known how complete of a basketball player Flagg is as he leads Duke in all five major statistical categories. The one knock on him was whether he was a true scorer, and could he be a #1 scoring option on a championship contender at the NBA level.
If 42 points on ridiculous efficiency from a freshman doesn't show how elite of a scorer Flagg is, nothing will.
Flagg has been elite at getting inside and to the bucket at will all season, but fans are starting to see how scary the freshman can be offensively with a three point shot. After really struggling from the perimeter over the first ten games of the season, going 8-of-36 (22.2%) from three in that span, Flagg has found his stroke shooting 12-of-22 (54.5%) from three over his last six games.
The freshman has continued to impress scouts and drop fans' jaws throughout the season, and his performance today proved he is the best player in the country.
Through Duke's three games in January, Flagg is averaging 28.3 points and 9.0 rebounds. He logged his sixth double double in Duke's last game against Pitt, and now has eight games of 20 or more points scored.
Flagg is the best player in the country because no one else impacts winning in every facet of the game at the level that Flagg does. There isn't one area of Duke's play that Flagg doesn't elevate to a great extent. And the fact that he is still 18 is almost unfathomable.
The Duke freshman phenom should be the National Player of the Year frontrunner after today. Auburn's Johni Broome, the big man head-to-head with Flagg in the debate for best player in the country, reportedly suffered a severe ankle sprain in the team's win versus South Carolina today.
Flagg and the rest of the Blue Devils have one more contest on their three-game home stand as they will host the Miami Hurricanes (4-11, 0-4 ACC) next on January 14th at 9:00pm ET on ESPN.