Kentucky Wildcats Triumph Over Duke in Marquee Game

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00:00Kentucky Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils.

00:05This was the marquee game last night, 77-72 final,

00:08which the Kentucky Wildcats won that game in an upset over Duke.

00:12Duke looked like they had it going in the first half here, Dubs.

00:1546 points, they had a 9-point lead at the break,

00:17only for the second half to completely flip over

00:19and saw Kentucky get into the 40s and Duke being held to 26 points.

00:23If you go Superstar watching last night, obviously Cooper Flagg,

00:26probably the biggest superstar in college men's basketball,

00:309-of-19 from the floor, 32 minutes,

00:32finished the game with 12 rebounds and 26 points, but it wasn't enough.

00:37Credit Kentucky for coming back, strong play all the way through.

00:40Mark Pope, this is a great way to start your season.

00:42I'll say to get 3-0 with a win over a top-10 team in the Duke Blue Devils.

00:47Yeah, this can go a long way in building confidence

00:50to just solidify that the Kentucky Wildcats are absolutely the real deal

00:54under Mark Pope.

00:56So another, I guess, test of the medal there, but for the Blue Devils,

01:00they come up a little short late in this one.

01:02The big difference for me, Donnie, was that 3-point shooting,

01:05and it ultimately cost the Devils.

01:07They just couldn't get that spark from out wide for Kentucky.

01:10They look better the further this game went on,

01:12outscoring them in the second, 40-26 there.

01:15So a couple of big plays, a couple of big numbers,

01:17but for the Kentucky Wildcats, this was the test.

01:20This was the referendum game early in the season.

01:22Now sitting at 3-0.

01:23I thought it was fantastic for Cooper Flagg,

01:25who we know is an absolute superstar in this sport for Duke.

01:28He lived up to the billing, putting up a little 26-piece,

01:32but there were a couple of misfires late in this game,

01:35which I think could have kept Duke a little closer to the Wildcats,

01:38but it wasn't enough.

01:40They fall short in the State Farm Champions Classic.

01:42But College Herbs, a couple of big matchups last night

01:45in Kentucky Wildcats.

01:46They were the standouts.

01:48Yeah, and by the way, you look at these games,

01:50which does make it tough because, you know,

01:52analyzing a college basketball season,

01:54they're going to play, what, 35 games in the regular season schedule or so.

01:57Once you get in the conference play,

01:58they'll have 10 to 15 games under their belt.

02:00You're playing in home arenas that you're used to,

02:02away arenas that you've been to before.

02:04Sometimes when you get to these NBA arenas early on,

02:06the shooting can go cold.

02:08Now granted, Duke's going to rebound.

02:09Duke's going to have a very good season.

02:11But you play two cupcakes on your schedule,

02:13then you enter into a play a team in the top 20.

02:15You see Duke 4 of 23 from the three-point line.

02:18That's under 20%.

02:20Con Knafel's a very good three-point shooter.

02:22It was first two games, raining down triples.

02:24He shot eight of them last night, Dubsy.

02:26Only made one of those three-point shots.

02:28So a shot here or there that could go down can help,

02:30but this is what you get, leveling up in competition,

02:33playing in a foreign arena.

02:34Sometimes it doesn't go in your favor.

02:36So credit the Kentucky Wildcats for getting through that

02:38because it looked like Duke was on their way,

02:39probably to 100 points in that game,

02:41really clamped down on defense.

02:43But the shooting of Duke hurt them.

02:44What did you think, Dubsy, last night out of Cooper Flagg?

02:46The kid is a sensation.

02:47The 26 points, the 12 boards you love,

02:49but coming down the stretch,

02:51two key turnovers when it mattered most.

02:53He turned it over.

02:55Yeah, a couple of, I guess, misfires,

02:58a couple of miscues there, if you will.

03:00And this is what's going to happen

03:01when you lean on the kid for so much production.

03:04He's literally trying to do it all by himself.

03:06I thought he was very efficient with his shooting.

03:08Wasn't fantastic from out wide,

03:10but, you know, was busy in the paint,

03:12picking up 12 boards there as well.

03:14I just feel like, Donnie, when you watch, you know,

03:16a lot of the college basketball,

03:18especially early in the season,

03:19there's such an influence from the NBA to the college level.

03:24And when they get down by four, six points

03:26and there's two minutes left on the clock,

03:28I'm thinking, just get in the paint,

03:30get the easy points, get the easy buckets.

03:32But they continue to fire it out wide

03:35and chase the three bomb to get them back in the equation.

03:38But they just don't have that skill set.

03:40The three-point shooting is not at the same level.

03:43So it was a tough watch for me

03:44because I thought Duke did enough to stay in this ball game

03:47right up until the final minute,

03:49but ultimately just falling a little short.

03:51But the freshman, Cooper Flagg, continues to impress.

03:55And the Blue Devils, they are the real deal.

03:57Both sides here, they're going to be right in the mix there

04:00once it's all said and done.

04:01But Kentucky, the Wildcats,

04:02absolutely roared for your Tuesday evening.

04:05♪

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