Cooper Flagg, No. 4 Duke aim to take down Pitt

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg entered the season as perhaps the top professional prospect on the college level.And Flagg senses he’s getting better on a regular basis.Flagg will try to put that on display again when No. 4 Duke hosts Pitt on Tuesday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Durham, N.C.”My whole mindset this whole year has just been trying to get better every single day,” Flagg said. “I think that as we’ve gotten more comfortable as a team, we’ve come together more.”Duke (12-2, 4-0) boosted its winning streak to eight games with an 89-62 triumph at SMU on Saturday.Pitt (12-2, 3-0), which holds a five-game winning streak, will arrive with a four-game stretch of shooting better than 50 percent from the field.Last January, the Panthers won at Duke for the first time since 1979, so that’s bound to be etched in the minds of the Blue Devils, at least those who were on the team a year ago.On Saturday vs. SMU, third-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer missed a game for the first time, as he was ill. Associate head coach Chris Carrawell filled in.”It was different,” Carrawell said. “Lot of crazy stuff going on, but our guys responded and played a great game.”Flagg has back-to-back games with 24 points. He had 15 in the first half vs. the Mustangs, marking his highest output in any half this season. He didn’t score in the final 15:55 but ended up with a game-high 11 rebounds.Flagg and guard Tyrese Proctor helped set the tone in the SMU game, and that might be an ideal trend for the Blue Devils.”Guys are learning how to play with each other,” Carrawell said. “(Proctor and Flagg) are really excellent leaders for our team. We go how they go.”