Freshman sensation Cooper Flagg and the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season after falling to the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats 77-72 in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.
Flagg, the top prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, played lights out for a majority of the night, recording a new career-high of 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Kentucky was led by Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr, who notched a team-high 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Despite the great box score from Flagg, the 17-year-old struggled in the final minute of the game with numerous freshman mistakes.
With the game tied at 72 apiece and only 15 seconds remaining, Duke had the ball with a chance to take the lead. As Flagg made a move in the post, he simply lost his handle, leading to a turnover and two made free throws for the Wildcats.
Then, the Blue Devils needed a bucket to at least tie the game back up. However, Flagg once again lost the ball on the baseline, causing him to step out of bounds with five seconds left—another turnover.