By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers	49
1Duke Blue Devils	93
Final

Raleigh, N.C. — Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg returned from a two-game absence Friday and picked up right where he left off before injuring his left ankle last week, helping the top-seeded Blue Devils to a commanding victory in their NCAA Tournament opener.

Duke defeated No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s 93-49 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh. The Blue Devils (32-3) play No. 9 seed Baylor (20-14) on Sunday in the second round at 2:40 p.m.

“We didn’t take them lightly,” Flagg said. “We came out, and we executed, and we just jumped out to it. I think it was great execution by us.”

Duke had just two turnovers in the victory. In 22 minutes of playing time, Flagg had 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Flagg did not play in the final 10:53 of the game as the Blue Devils rested their starters in the blowout.

“We were ready for him to play more, but I think the way it worked out obviously was really good,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “But we were prepared for him to play as many minutes as he needed to. Our guys did a great job. Even as he was coming back with his ankle, he was in the pool a lot, underwater treadmill, just making sure his shape was still there.”

Tyrese Proctor tied his career high with six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 19 points. Proctor set his career high against Louisville in the ACC Tournament championship game. He was 6-of-8 on 3s in the game.

Flagg said Thursday that he was “pain free” from the left ankle injury that he suffered in last week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Flagg missed the final two games of the tournament, which Duke won without him.

“After watching the whole ACC Tournament, it was more of just like a plan to just be ready for this game, and we just put a plan in place,” Flagg said. “We have phases, a strategy of just getting back, getting prepared, and being ready.”

Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year, a unanimous AP All-American and the expected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Flagg was averaging 30.4 minutes per game entering the tournament.

Scheyer said there was never really a doubt that Flagg would play, even with the Blue Devils entering as heavy favorites.

“I think it’s very easy to say, yeah, you should just rest,” Scheyer said. “Well, you want to have your best team, and you’re not promised the next game. I think just as important was the fact of him playing. I didn’t think he looked like it, but you have some natural rust. You have some — just the game experience I think is really important to understand what the tournament is like.

“So for me, there wasn’t a question. I know for him there wasn’t a question. But at the same time, like we weren’t going to risk anything either. When we knew he was ready, he was going to go.”

Flagg said after the game that he would not need any extra treatment on the ankle.

Duke reserve Maliq Brown, a key defender, missed Friday’s game after dislocating his left shoulder in the ACC Tournament. It is the second time he has dislocated the shoulder this season.

Source: wralsportsfan.com