The No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024 and projected first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft sat on the court in front of the Duke bench, ranked No. 6 in the nation, hands interlocked, twirled with a face of disappointment.
A 26-point, 12-rebound night for Cooper Flagg quickly transitioned into a gut-wrenching loss courtesy of a crucial turnover in the dying seconds of the 2024 State Farm Champions Classic.
Behind him?
A Kentucky team that sat 13 spots behind the Blue Devils at No. 19, jumping up and down, celebrating its first ranked win under newly hired Head Coach Mark Pope.
The 77-72 win was big enough for UK to celebrate, knocking off the Blue Devils for the first time since 2015, however, the victory itself wasn’t the only source of excitement.
It was also the fact that Kentucky found a way to come out on top in a way that it hadn’t had to experience yet, winning a gritty, tough-in-the-paint game that saw it trailing from behind for most of the contest.
The Cats were in hostile territory for most, if not all, of the game, trailing 46-37 at halftime and by three with just over four minutes to go.
One could feel that Big Blue Nation was starting to feel another “moral” victory creep onto the horizon, something it was used to experiencing after coming close to beating dominant teams over the past few seasons.
It was known that if Kentucky wanted to shock Duke and leave the Peach State with green highlighting the win column, it was going to have to play its own style of basketball: fast transition offense filled with made 3-pointers.
Well, Kentucky did the opposite. It did not play its style for the most part, yet it still overruled the young albeit talented Blue Devils.
The Cats captured 30 of their points from behind the three-point arch, shooting 10-25 from deep, good for 40%.
UK can get away shooting 40% from three, but the difference was that senior Jaxson Robinson, one of Kentucky’s most talented three-point shooters, struggled heavily, only scoring one point — a free throw — and going 0-3 from deep and 0-4 from the field.
Senior Koby Brea, one of UK’s other three-point specialists, also had a sub-par performance — to his standard at least — by going 2-4 from deep and 3-5 from the field, good for eight points.
However, Andrew Carr, who was coming off of an 11-point performance against Bucknell, rose up when the Cats needed him most, scoring 17 points on eight attempted field goals and six attempted free-throws.
Carr really gave UK the boost it needed down the stretch, finishing two layups through contact and getting the foul call while also finishing the free-throws.
The Cats were also outsized by Duke as the Blue Devils’ big three, Khaman Maluach (7-foot-2), Flagg (6-foot-9) and Kon Knueppel (6-foot-7), all overlooked their UK opponents.
Duke was able to solidify 46 points in the paint, yet, somehow, Kentucky still managed to nail 26 points of its own in the paint.
Now, more than ever, after the milestone accomplishment in UK history, Kentucky cannot get complacent as it has its first chance to build off of its massive win on Tuesday, Nov. 19, when it faces the Lipscomb Bisons in Rupp Arena. That game can be viewed on the SEC Network+.
