CHARLOTTE — Tyrese Proctor finished with 19 points as No. 1 Duke cranked out a 73-62 victory against No. 13 Louisville to win its second Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship in three years despite being without its top player again Saturday night.
Duke won its 23rd ACC tournament title in 36 appearances in the final, boosted by 18 points from Kon Knueppel and 15 from Sion James.
“I wouldn’t be here without my guys,” said Knueppel, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “We’ll keep fighting.”
Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year, was out for the second straight game after he exited in the first half of Thursday’s quarterfinal against Georgia Tech with an ankle injury. But coach Jon Scheyer’s team overcame bumpy stretches in the first half to showcase some of the dominance it displayed throughout the regular season.
“We got a special group, man,” Scheyer said. “They’re connected. They’re tough. Every time you want to count them out, they come right back and show incredible fight and incredible heart.”
Khaman Maluach’s eight points and 10 rebounds also helped the Blue Devils (31-3), who could be the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament when the brackets are unveiled Sunday night.
Terrence Edwards Jr. pumped in 29 points and Chucky Hepburn added 14 for second-seeded Louisville (27-7), which lost for only the second time since December.
Under first-year coach Pat Kelsey, the Cardinals have made a rapid rise from a last-place conference finish a year ago.
“Our guys were absolutely warriors over the last three days,” Kelsey said. “They played to exhaustion. They played their hearts out. Very excited and fortunate to play in the national tournament starting next week.”
Duke’s 12-0 run in the second half for a 57-47 lead included back-to-back 3-pointers from James and Proctor.
The Blue Devils had it rolling, matching their first-half scoring output across less than 15 minutes in the second half to go up by 66-55.
Proctor drained six of Duke’s 10 baskets from 3-point range.
Louisville had growing second-half foul trouble, with Hepburn and Noah Waterman tagged with four fouls apiece with more than 7 1/2 minutes remaining.
Edwards had 15 first-half points as Louisville went to the break with a 38-33 lead. The Cardinals scored on seven of their last eight possessions of the half.
The Blue Devils also played the past two games without key reserve Maliq Brown, who reinjured his shoulder on Thursday. While all indications are that Flagg is likely to be ready when the NCAA Tournament begins, Brown’s status appears less certain.
Duke won the only regular-season meeting 76-65 on Dec. 8 at Louisville. Flagg had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
