Cooper Flagg returns to New England and leads No. 3 Duke past Boston College 88-63

BOSTON (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 28 points, settling down after missing four of his first five shots on Saturday night to lead No. 3 Duke to its 12th straight victory, 88-63 over Boston College.

Tyrese Proctor added 20 points for the Blue Devils (16-2, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). But the person drawing the pro scouts and a sellout crowd — the bulk of them Duke fans — was Flagg, who was playing his first college game in New England since leaving Maine for Tobacco Road.

Chad Venning scored 19 for Boston College (9-9, 1-5). Duke has beaten BC in 10 consecutive meetings since the Eagles upset the top-ranked Blue Devils in Conte Forum on Dec. 9, 2017.

BC led for almost all of the first 15 minutes, taking an 18-11 lead midway through the first half before the Blue Devils scored 11 of the next 13 points. The Eagles led for the last time at 24-22 before Duke went on a 11-3 run – with nine of the points scored by Flagg.

Takeaways

Duke: The Blue Devils aren't getting much competition in the ACC this season. They're the only school in the AP Top 25 from the conference, which had four teams in the final 2024 rankings.

Boston College: The Eagles have lost four straight ACC games since their victory over Miami on New Year's Day.

Key moment

About 90 seconds into the game, Flagg and Khaman Maluach combined to block a shot under the BC basket and Flagg was slow to get up, favoring his ankle. He did not make it down the court on defense, but seemed fine when the play returned to the Duke end.