Duke fans go gaga over Cooper Flagg and his 18 year old teammate after major Auburn upset: "Coop MVP, but Slim saved us"
The No. 9 Duke Blue Devils nailed an upset 84-78 victory over the No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers on Wednesday. In the hotly contested matchup, first-year standouts Cooper Flagg and Isaiah Evans showed out and looked poised to lead the Blue Devils to a deep run this season.
Flagg got player of the game honor with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, along with his four assists, three steals and two blocks. Meanwhile, Evans was the sparkplug of the bench by contributing 18 points, all from his six 3-pointers, in just 16 minutes of action.
After their performances, the Blue Devils fans have gone into a frenzy on social media seeing their two rookies propel the storied team to victory over a strong opponent.
"Coop MVP, but Slim saved us!!!!" one fan wrote on X.
"Holly Farms player of the game has to be Cooper Flagg. Yes, Isaiah Evans was the highlight reel of the first half. Brown, James, Foster, and Proctor all played big parts. But Flagg landed body blows all night, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals," another voiced out their opinion.
"Isaiah Evans should’ve been starting for Duke. Him & Cooper Flagg (are) game changers. Most definitely could’ve beat Kentucky," a fan expressed.
While Flagg has stolen most of the spotlight at Duke, Evans has been steadily producing under the bright lights. His contributions on Wednesday have definitely ignited the hype train for the 6-foot-6 guard.
"Fantastic showing for Cooper, though. Statistically, he was the Player of the Game. But this will always be remembered as the Isaiah game," a user posted.
"Bruce definitely warned the team before the game about the freshman they were going to have to stop. I think the mistake was he told them it was Cooper Flagg instead of Isaiah Evans," another explained.
"Sometimes you need a f*ck*ng DAWG AND ISAIAH EVANS IS A F*CK*NG DAWG. Let’s go kid. They can’t not play you kid!!!" one fan said.
It may be clear-cut that Flagg is the standout freshman of the team, but there's no doubt that there is a budding star in Evans as he looks to follow suit in carving out a name for himself.
The emerging duo will have another go at it as they face another highly touted opponent in the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday.
Cooper Flagg is proud of Isaiah Evans despite his shaky start
After a remarkable high school career at North Mecklenburg, Evans has struggled to find his footing with his collegiate team as he hasn't received substantial minutes to showcase his game.
Given the outing he had against Auburn, it's a no-brainer that the sharpshooter will be clocking in more playing time, and Flagg couldn't be prouder.
"That's something you don't see every day, got a guy like Isaiah, who had an incredible high school career to come in and not start how he would've hoped here," Flagg said in a postgame interview.
"But, just to stay ready and just work every single day. He's been one of the hardest workers on the team for sure."
As the chemistry between Cooper Flagg and Isaiah Evans continues to grow, Duke can certainly expect its current AP poll ranking to rise.