Proctor Leads Duke to Sweet 16 in Blue Devils’ 89-66 Win Over Baylor
Tyrese Proctor the shooting doctor, Kon Knueppel with the Triple, and it’s almost in the bag with Cooper Flagg…Duke has so many different players doing different things, and doing them all WELL, as they head to the Sweet 16, of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament….Lots of good players, doing good things good…..
from www.goduke.com
RALEIGH, N.C. – Behind a career-high 25 points from Tyrese Proctor, No. 1-seed Duke defeated No. 9-seed Baylor, 89-66, on Sunday, March 23. With the win, the Blue Devils (33-3) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season and will face either No. 4-seed Arizona or No. 5-seed Oregon on Thursday, March 27.
Proctor drained a career-high seven three-pointers, going 7-of-8 (.875) from beyond the arc and finished the game 9-of-10 (.900) from the field overall. Across Duke’s last three games, the junior has shot 19-of-30 (.633) on three-pointers and is averaging 17.7 points per game in that span. Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel also reached double-figures, scoring 18 and 12, respectively.
Flagg registered team highs in rebounds (9) and assists (6), while Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II shared the team lead for blocks, with two each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tyrese Proctor picked up where he left off in the first round, drilling a three-pointer for the first points of the game. A free throw by Cooper Flagg, followed by a three-pointer from Kon Knueppel, inched Duke in front by three, 7-4, three minutes into the game.
Baylor took a two-point lead, 9-7, before Flagg scored five straight to put the Blue Devils back in front by three. The two teams traded the lead as the first half continued on, with eight lead changes in the first 12 minutes. Flagg put Duke back ahead, 25-24, with two makes from the charity stripe and Proctor followed with a triple to increase Duke’s margin to four, 28-24.
The Blue Devils’ defense held Baylor to a stretch of 0-for-8 from the field – a scoring drought spanning nearly four minutes – to build a nine-point lead, 33-24, shortly before the under-four timeout.
Duke closed the first half on a 12-0 run, highlighted by a Flagg alley-oop slam, and secured a 47-30 advantage heading into the locker room. Baylor scored 10 of the first 16 points out of the break, pulling within 13, 53-40, with 16:31 on the clock.
A Mason Gillis three-pointer, with 9:16 on the clock, expanded the lead to 17, 68-51. Proctor made a contested three-pointer, his fourth of the afternoon, giving the Blue Devils their largest lead of the game, 73-53, with seven minutes left to play. The junior made two more from deep, giving him 22 points for the game, as Duke led by 21 at the final media timeout of the day.
Duke’s final basket of the night came from Caleb Foster, giving the sophomore six points for the game and capping the 89-66 victory.
NOTES
Duke improved its NCAA Tournament record to 124-41 (.752) all-time, marking the best winning percentage in tournament history by a team with a minimum of 20 games played.
With the win, Duke improved to 29-10 (.744) in the NCAA Tournament second round, 61-17 (.782) when playing in the East Region and to 6-0 when playing against a No. 9-seed.
The game was the Blue Devils’ 42nd NCAA Tournament contest played in the state of North Carolina, improving to a record of 36-6 (.857).
Duke advances to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, and is making its 28th appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1985, when the field expanded to 64.
The 28 appearances are the most by any program in the country in that time frame, ahead of North Carolina’s 25.
Duke shot 13-of-20 (.650) from the field in the first half, its best first-half shooting percentage of the season, to build a 17-point lead (47-30) after 20 minutes of play.
The Blue Devils also eclipsed 60 percent from the field in the second half, shooting 16-of-25 (640) – marking Duke’s first game this season having shot over 60 percent in both halves.
Duke finished the game 29-of-45 (.644) from the field, its best shooting percentage this season.
The 64.4-percent performance is the best single-game shooting percentage by a Duke team in the NCAA Tournament, surpassing a 63.2-percent game against Southern Illinois on March 18, 1993.
Duke finished the game with 1.51 points per possession on offense, the highest single-game output by a team in the NCAA Tournament since Villanova registered 1.52 points per possession against Oklahoma in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, per Jared Berson.
The 1.51 points per possession is the highest by any Baylor opponent this season, surpassing Gonzaga’s 1.44 in the Bears’ season opener.
Duke’s 23-point win is the largest margin of victory in the series with Baylor, which the Blue Devils lead, 3-0.
Sunday was the second meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament, with Duke now 2-0 against Baylor in the event.
The Blue Devils had previously defeated the Bears, 78-71, in the Elite Eight on March 28, 2010. Current Duke head coach Jon Scheyer drained five three-pointers and made all five free throws for 20 total points in that contest.
Duke picked up its 33rd win of the season, improving to 33-3 overall for the campaign. Since the start of the 2000 season, Duke has now registered four campaigns with at least 33 wins (2001, 2010, 2015, 2025).
The Blue Devils scored 17 fast-break points, while limiting Baylor to just five.
Duke entered the game averaging 11.8 points in transition, while the Bears averaged 10.2.
Duke’s defense limited the Bears to 66 points, 10.4 below their season average of 76.4 points per game.
Duke has now connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,261 straight games, the longest streak nationally.
Tyrese Proctor set a new career high, scoring 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, fueled by a career-high seven made three-pointers.
Proctor shot 7-of-8 (.875) beyond the arc and is now 19-of-30 (.633) from deep in Duke’s last three games.
Proctor’s seven made three-pointers is tied for second-most in an NCAA Tournament game, matching Quinn Cook’s seven against Mercer on March 21, 2014, and trailing only Jared McCain’s eight triples against James Madison on March 24, 2024.
Proctor’s three-point percentage (.875) is the highest by a Duke player in an NCAA Tournament game, surpassing Bobby Hurley’s 6-of-7 (.857) showing against Southern Illinois on March 18, 1993.
The 9-of-10 (.900) overall shooting performance by Proctor is tied for second-best single-game shooting percentage by a Blue Devil in the NCAA Tournament, joining Marshall Plumlee’s 9-of-10 performance against
UNC Wilmington on March 17, 2016.
Cooper Flagg scored 18 points, including 15 in the first half. The freshman shot 5-of-11 from the field, while also posting team highs for rebounds (9) and assists (6).
In the first and second round contests in Raleigh, Flagg tallied 32 points, 16 boards and 10 assists to become the first Blue Devils with 30+ points, 15+ rebounds and 10+ assists in consecutive games during a single NCAA Tournament since Grant Hill in 1994, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
Kon Knueppel was Duke’s third double-digit scorer with 12 points. The freshman drilled two three-pointers and finished the game 4-of-5 (.800) from the field, while also distributing three assists.
Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II shared the team lead for blocks with two each, while also contributing eight points apiece.
Mason Gillis registered six points, four rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes of action, finishing with a team-best plus-minus of +26.
QUOTES
“For us, the preparation for this game started with great respect for Scott Drew, his program, how good of a coach he is, his coaching staff, their players. They have really good talent. So for us to win by this margin, I think speaks to the level of killer instinct that our guys have, the competitiveness, and the connectivity. I thought guys did a great job last two games, if my math is right, we have 38-to-8 assist-to-turnovers. That’s a big deal. I thought, again, Cooper (Flagg) back these last couple games. He’s had a great way about him. Tyrese (Proctor), look, it’s obviously the shots, big-time shot-making, but I think he’s just been competitive and a great leader, setting the tone every day with what we’re doing. So really proud of this win. Sweet 16 sounds great. We know it’s a quick turnaround, but we’re going to enjoy this one tonight and get back to it.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
“I think when Tyrese (Proctor) plays with the type of confidence he’s been playing with, really this whole second half of the season is really good for our team. Such a talented player, such a weapon for us when he’s being confident looking for his shot.” – Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg
“I think it’s just my preparation, just behind the scenes putting in the work and trusting myself. When I’m on the court, just playing free and just having fun out there, just trying to cherish every moment I get with these guys and just having fun.” – Duke junior guard Tyrese Proctor
UP NEXT
No. 1-seed Duke moves on to the Sweet 16 and face either No. 4-seed Arizona or No. 5-seed Oregon in the East Region semifinal, played on Thursday, March 27, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.