TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Cooper Flagg scored 24 points, Kon Knueppel added 13 and the pair of freshmen led No. 12 Duke past No. 17 Arizona 69-55 on Friday night.

Flagg drove the lane and threw down a one-handed jam in traffic to give the Blue Devils a 46-33 lead with 12:27 left. The preseason All-America pick shot 10 of 22 from the field and added six rebounds and three assists.

Duke (4-1) never trailed in the second half.

Arizona (2-2), which has lost two straight, cut the margin to 54-48 on Jaden Bradley's layup with 5:40 left but couldn't get closer. Bradley led the team with 18 points, while KJ Lewis added 12.

Duke led 34-27 and had a 22-14 rebounding advantage at halftime, closing on a 6-0 run.

Duke: The Blue Devils handled their first true road game with poise despite having three freshmen in the starting lineup. The physical performance against a team with a pair of 7-footers bodes well for the future.

Arizona: The Wildcats were bothered by Duke's size, strength and athleticism, losing lots of 50-50 battles for loose balls and offensive rebounds.

Knueppel grabbed his own offensive rebound, dribbled out to the perimeter and then hit a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 42-31 lead with 15:33 left. It was Duke's first double-digit lead of the night.

Arizona's Caleb Love - a preseason All-America selection along with Flagg - finished with just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. Love averaged nearly 17 points per game in eight previous games against the Blue Devils, dating back to his time at North Carolina.

Duke plays No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and Arizona plays Davidson on Wednesday in the Bahamas.

---

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.