Duke Basketball Treasure Cooper Flagg Sees His ACC Record Broken

In an 86-78 home win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 11, 2025, Cooper Flagg set a new single-game record for Duke basketball freshmen and ACC rookies by pouring in 42 points. The now-frontrunner for NBA Rookie of the Year shot 11-for-14 from the field, 4-for-6 from three, and 16-for-17 at the charity stripe in that contest.

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He went on to become the ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, and consensus National Player of the Year before coming off the board No. 1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks at the 2025 NBA Draft.

But Flagg's ACC record stood for only 13 months, as freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tallied 45 points to power the No. 24-ranked Louisville Cardinals to a 118-77 blowout home victory over the unranked NC State Wolfpack in the KFC Yum! Center on Monday night. Brown finished 14-for-23 from the field, 10-for-16 beyond the arc, and 7-for-7 at the foul line across his 34 minutes on the court.

He added nine rebounds, two assists, and three steals against the Wolfpack.

Plus, it's worth noting that Brown's point total tied Louisville basketball legend Wes Unseld for the most in a game in Cardinals history.

Duke Basketball Defenders Recently Held Mikel Brown Jr. in Check

The now-No. 4 Blue Devils have already swept the Cardinals this season. In the teams' most recent matchup on Jan. 26, Duke basketball freshman wing and lockdown defensive specialist Dame Sarr made things notably difficult for Mikel Brown Jr. all night long, thereby helping Jon Scheyer's fourth batch of Blue Devils secure an impressive 83-52 home win.

On that night, Brown connected on only one of his 13 field goal attempts and went 4-for-6 at the foul line, ending up with only seven points in what his first outing against the Blue Devils. A few weeks earlier on Jan. 6, the 19-year-old and projected one-and-done sat out of Louisville's 84-73 home loss to Duke.

Duke basketball defends Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. — Jan 26, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) looks to pass as Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

As things stand, Duke basketball freshman power forward Cameron Boozer, whose top scoring performance as a collegian sits at 35 (twice), remains the favorite to wind up with the ACC Rookie of the Year hardware.

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