CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter got a little carried away driving the Cooper Flagg hype train following Duke's 84-78 win over Auburn on December 4, claiming the Newport, Maine native was caused "destruction" of Bruce Pearl's lineup.
While Trotter made a good case on how Flagg's offensive talent met the challenge of every type of defensive challenge from Pearl's better-than-advertised defense -- their opponents' PPG average is No. 128 in the country but their schedule has been a murderer's row -- he was undoubtedly being hyperbolic about Flagg's dominance.
As gaudy as his stat line was (22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocks) Flagg still shot 7/18 and 0/4 from beyond the arc.
"The freshman phenom was tremendous in No. 9 Duke's 84-78 win over No. 2 Auburn, notching 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals. Duke's offense sizzled to the tune of 1.33 points per possession against Auburn's fabulous defense. That had not happened to a Bruce Pearl team since Feb. 20, 2021, when a Cam Thomas-led LSU club went berserk for 1.34 points per possession (shoutout, Will Wade)," Trotter wrote.
"Flagg's destruction of every single Auburn defender was the biggest reason why. Pearl tried everybody on Flagg and nothing worked. He scored seven buckets on six different Auburn defenders."
Given how good Flagg was, it just felt a tad much to position his performance as something that had the Tigers down and out. Auburn made it a game until the very end, falling behind by as many as 12 but pulling within two possessions in the game's closing moments.
AU has overcome very real adversity this season. The national media doesn't need to pile on with manufactured narratives like the Tigers being destroyed in a game they only lost by six and by a player they made miss more often than not.