Best freshman in college basketball? How about the best player in college basketball, period?

That’s how we should view Duke forward Cooper Flagg after Saturday, when he scored a career-high 42 points to lead the Blue Devils past Notre Dame, 86-78. Flagg’s 42 points not only set Duke’s new single-game freshman record – surpassing Zion Williamson’s 35 against Syracuse in 2019 – but also the ACC single-game freshman record.

Additionally, it is the first 40-point game by a Blue Devil since JJ Redick in 2006.

Perhaps the only surprise about Flagg’s groundbreaking performance? That in his first college season (and his only season – he’s widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft this summer) it took him so long to reach the point-high that he had in all previous ones Has reached basketball levels. Before Saturday, Flagg’s career-high was 26 points against Kentucky in the Duke’s Champions Classic loss in November. On Saturday, Duke needed every single one of those points after Notre Dame used a late 10-0 run to cut a one-time 18-point deficit to just four with 32 seconds left.

Cooper Flagg vs. Notre Dame:

🔵 42 PTS (most by a freshman in men’s ACC history)
🔵 11-14 FG
🔵 6 REB
🔵 7 AST pic.twitter.com/cLd1hfyYt7

– ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2025

Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Tuesday after Duke’s 76-47 win over Pittsburgh: “When we step on the field, we have the best player in the country.”

After Saturday, it’s much harder to dispute that claim.

Flagg’s efficiency was as notable as his pure counting stats, which also included seven assists and six rebounds. The 6-foot-9 Maine native made 11 of his 14 shots — including four of his six 3-point attempts — as well as 16 of his 17 free throw attempts.

Cooper Flagg had 42 points, 6 points and 7 assists against Notre Dame.

He is the first Duke player with 35+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in a single game since Jon Scheyer on 12/15/09 (vs. Gardner-Webb).

— #DukeMBBStats (@DukeMBBStats) January 11, 2025

Entering Saturday, Flagg led Duke in every major statistical category: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He’s second in KenPom’s National Player of the Year rankings, trailing only Auburn center Johni Broome — although that could change after Saturday’s breakthrough.

“He doesn’t chase numbers,” Scheyer said of Flagg on Tuesday. “He just puts up numbers because the game comes to him.”

Required reading

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)