The No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats pulled off a massive upset Tuesday, downing No. 6 Duke 77-72 at the State Farm Champions Classic in Atlanta.
With the game tied at 72 with just seconds remaining, Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg had the ball stolen from him by Kentucky’s Otega Oweh.
The Wildcats junior was fouled on his counterattack and the ensuing free throws ended up being the winning baskets.
Flagg would again turn the ball over by placing his fingers out of bounds as he tried to catch himself falling from Kentucky’s defensive pressure in the far corner. The Wildcats effectively ended the game from the free-throw line after that.
It wasn’t a pretty final minute of regulation for the 17-year-old, but he did finish the game with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The rest of the Duke team, however, seemed to struggle throughout the night, shooting just 36.5 percent from the field and a dismal 16.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Kentucky thrived from the three comparatively, hitting 40 percent of their shots outside the line. The Wildcats made 70.8 percent of their free throws, which came in handy late.
It was the first major win for the program since the departure of longtime head coach John Calipari, who left for SEC rival Arkansas in April.
Duke (2-1) will head home to Durham and host Wofford on Nov. 16 in what should be a “get right” game for the Blue Devils.
Kentucky (3-0) will return to Lexington for a matchup with Lipscomb on Nov. 19, likely an easy addition to the win column as well.
