Tyrese Proctor, Duke basketball bury Baylor in March Madness, advance to NCAA Sweet 16

[ASFN Admin]

RALEIGH — Tyrese Proctor and Duke basketball will keep dancing into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

The top-seeded Blue Devils blew away their first two March Madness opponents at Lenovo Center, capping their run in Raleigh with a 89-66 victory against former Duke guard Jeremy Roach and No. 9 seed Baylor.

Proctor has been on fire from 3-point range in the postseason, knocking down at least six treys in each of his last three games. During that stretch, the junior guard is 19 of 30 from beyond the arc, making 63.3% of his shots from long distance.

Proctor finished with a career-high 25 points against Baylor (20-15), including a career-best seven 3-pointers on Sunday.

Duke (33-3) has advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in each of their 15 March Madness appearances as a No. 1 seed. In its 30th overall Sweet 16 showing, Duke will face No. 4 seed Arizona (23-12) or No. 5 seed Oregon (25-9) at the Prudential Center on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.

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Two of Duke’s last three games as a No. 1 seed in the round of 32 were decided by one possession. That wasn’t the case in Sunday’s game as Duke used a 24-6 extended run in the first half to take – and keep – command against the Bears.

Here are three observations from Duke’s second game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Cooper Flagg stats for Duke basketball vs Baylor in NCAA Tournament​

Cooper Flagg dropped 14 points in his March Madness debut. He topped that mark in the first half against Baylor, finishing with 15 points in just under 14 minutes to help Duke take a 17-point halftime lead. He picked up two fouls and appeared to get poked in the eye, sitting for a three-minute stretch before scoring seven points in a 12-0 run for the Blue Devils. Flagg finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

Patrick Ngongba, Blue Devils free-throw shooting in March Madness​

After attempting 12 free throws in its March Madness opener, Duke was 16 of 19 from the free-throw line in the first half against Baylor. Flagg and Patrick Ngongba made 12 of those 13 freebies to help Duke stretch out its lead. Ngongba provided another sterling effort off the bench, scoring 8 points to go with 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in just over 11 minutes before halftime. Duke made 19 of 23 free throws against Baylor.

Kon Knueppel second-half scoring for Duke in NCAA Tournament vs Baylor​

After averaging 21 points on his way to earning ACC Tournament MVP, Duke's Kon Knueppel had a quiet debut in the NCAA Tournament. Knueppel scored six points on five shots against Mount St. Mary's, but he's had a tendency to produce bounce-back efforts this season. The freshman had back-to-back games with single-digit scoring in mid-February before following with nine games in double figures. Knueppel scored seven of his 10 points against Baylor in a three-minute stretch early in the second half. He finished with 12 points, including nine after halftime.

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke vs Baylor in 2025 March Madness: Cooper Flagg carries Blue Devils into Sweet 16

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