"Could've had 30 if he had wanted": Skip Bayless heaps praise on Duke superstar for "unselfish" performance vs Baylor

Skip Bayless, a former ESPN and FS1 columnist, took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise Duke freshman superstar Cooper Flagg for his dominant first half performance against Baylor in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Flagg finished the half with a team-high 15 points, leading his Blue Devils to a 17-point lead at the break.

However, despite the individual scoring output, Bayless felt that the Maine native could have been even more assertive and selfish.

"Cooper Flagg had 15 on 5 shot attempts in the first half to lead all scorers - Duke up 17 - while being unselfish to a fault. Again and again I said, 'Come on, just attack' as he worked the ball around to teammates. He could've had 30 if he had wanted," Bayless tweeted.

Flagg did not score much in the second half, adding only three points. However, he grabbed seven rebounds, ending the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds and three assists as Duke secured a comfortable 89-66 victory over the Bears to advance to the Sweet 16.

Skip Bayless also made a surprising prediction on Flagg and Duke ahead of their first-round March Madness matchup on Thursday.

"Duke is going to win the National Championship. My logic is simply this: Cooper Flagg is going to be a better NBA player than Carmelo Anthony was. So he is about to be by far the best player in this tournament," Bayless wrote on X.

Cooper Flagg's return positions Duke as strong contender for national championship

Cooper Flagg’s status was uncertain heading into the NCAA Tournament after he suffered an ankle injury during the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament on Mar. 13.

But the talented freshman managed to recover in time and make his return for Duke's first-round game against Mount St. Mary's on Friday. He played 22 minutes, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds in a 93-49 win.

"I’m feeling pretty good," Flagg said Thursday. "We have an incredible team, incredible training staff. So we’ve been working through the steps of just getting back, getting to 100 percent. I feel very good. I’m very confident moving forward."

While he had decent minutes, Duke coach Jon Scheyer is being cautious with his superstar's playing time to avoid any further aggravation of the injury.

The No. 1 seed Blue Devils have further solidified themselves as a top contender, largely due to Flagg's return — a projected top pick in this year’s NBA draft. They are currently listed at +225 to win the national championship as per ESPN BET.