Jon Scheyer and the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament on Friday, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 74-71 at Spectrum Center. The Blue Devils pulled off the victory without Cooper Flagg, who missed the game because of a sprained left ankle.
A reporter asked Jon Scheyer in the postgame press conference how much of an adjustment it was to play without Flaggin the closing stages of the game against North Carolina and where the Blue Devils felt his absence the most in that situation.
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"I think the thing we missed the most, you know, we had some lineups in there we hadn’t had," Scheyer said (Timestamp 7:07). "Isaiah [Evans] started and so we were in a little bit of different spots 30 games in."
"Some of the execution or timing probably wasn’t to the level I’d want it to be. It happened in such a quick turnaround, but overall, I thought our guys did a good job adjusting on the fly."
Jon Scheyer pointed out that the Blue Devils have several playmakers they can trust aside from Cooper Flagg.
"And then [there are players] we trust even when Cooper’s out there. Tyrese, Kon, Isaiah, Sion. We have other playmakers besides just Coop. But obviously, it’s different not having him out there," Scheyer said.
The Blue Devils missed Flagg's scoring capabilities in the second half when the Tar Heels made a furious rally. They sliced Duke's 24-point lead to just one with 32 seconds remaining and had an opportunity to take the lead with 4.1 seconds left when Ven-Allen Lubin got fouled.
Lubin missed his first free throw, though, and his second attempt was waved off after Jae'Lyn Withers entered the shaded area too early. Kon Knueppel restored Duke's three-point lead with a pair of free throws before Lubin missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Kon Knueppel steps up for Jon Scheyer in win over North Carolina
Kon Knueppel delivered for Jon Scheyer in Cooper Flagg's absence, scoring a team-high 17 points. He shot 5-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. He also knocked down four of his five free-throw attempts. Knueppel also grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded one steal.
Four other players scored in double figures for the Duke Blue Devils, who will next face the Louisville Cardinals in Saturday's final. Khaman Maluach dropped 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Sion James and Patrick Ngongba II each scored 12 points, while Tyrese Proctor had 11 points.
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