Cooper Flagg, No. 2 Duke Dominate Miami As CBB Fans Praise Knueppel, Evans' Impact

The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team moved one step closer to an ACC regular season title Tuesday with a commanding 97-60 victory over the Miami Hurricanes at Watsco Center.

Duke is now 25-3 overall and 16-1 in conference play following its fifth straight victory, while Miami fell to 6-22 overall and 2-15 in the ACC with a fourth straight loss. The two teams are heading in opposite directions, and the visitors made sure there was no chance of a stunning upset from the opening tip.

All eyes are on Cooper Flagg every time the Blue Devils take the floor, and the freshman delivered with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. 

It was far from a one-man show, as Isaiah Evans (16 points and five three-pointers) and Kon Knueppel (20 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and four three-pointers) also played well.

The overall performance drew plenty of reaction from social media:

Duke entered play one game ahead of Louisville and Clemson in the race for the ACC regular-season title, and anything but a straightforward victory against Miami would have been a surprise given the difference between the championship contender and a Hurricanes team that sits in last place in the league.

The Blue Devils won the first matchup between the teams this season by 35 points and wasted no time setting the tone again Tuesday by jumping out to a double-digit lead within the first six minutes.

It was seemingly all but decided in those opening minutes, and the visitors extended the lead to 15 points by halftime. Evans was the early story, as he caught fire from deep and provided a spark off the bench with five triples in the first half.

Flagg also made his presence felt with a two-handed slam and three-pointer all while overpowering defenders in the lane and proving he is a willing passer when double teams collapsed on him.

However, it wasn't all good news for the Blue Devils. Tyrese Proctor suffered an apparent knee injury shortly before halftime and was ruled out for the remainder of the game, which could have implications that last well beyond this individual win.

With Proctor sidelined, more of the onus outside of Flagg fell on Knueppel. He responded with multiple three-pointers early in the second half to further put the game away as Duke was able to go deeper down its bench and rest its starters down the stretch.

The second half was a formality, which means the Blue Devils still control their ACC destiny with three games remaining in the season. The next one is Saturday when they host Florida State in another game that could get ugly against an overmatched foe.