RALEIGH,NC – The last time the Duke Blue Devils played a NCAA Tournament game in Raleigh, the lasting image was the “Nae Nae” seen around the world after 14th seeded Mercer upset 3rd seeded Duke. There would be no celebratory dancing at the Blue Devils’ expense Friday afternoon as they cruised to a 93-49 win over Mount St. Mary’s.
The Blue Devils opened the contest on a 13-2 run and never looked back. Tyrese Proctor finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor, including a season high six three pointers.
“I thought we were poised and controlled the tempo of the game,” Proctor said after the win. ” We just read what the defense gave us. I think we’re playing our best basketball when we all move the ball and get great looks.”
Cooper Flagg saw his first game action since spraining his ankle during the Blue Devils’ ACC quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech. He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes of play.
“It was more of just like a plan to be ready for this game and we just put a plan in place,” Flagg said about his recovery. “We have phases – a strategy of just getting back, getting prepared and being ready. So we followed it step by step. I worked with our medical team really well and they did a great job just getting me ready.”
“The biggest thing for me was him not pacing,” head coach Jon Scheyer said. “I didn’t want him to pace. Then obviously making sure he was moving, where he wasn’t off balance or favoring one leg or the other. We had already addressed that before this game, so that wasn’t a big concern. I was just making sure he wasn’t pacing. Obviously giving him a few extra minutes, I’m sure that’s going to be helpful for Sunday. As it got down in the second half, my thing was to limit his minutes as much as possible.”
The Blue Devils advance to take on the Baylor Bears who defeated Mississippi State 75-72 in the first game of the day. Sunday’s tip off time has not been announced.