You knew this southern-Mainer would be back for the Round of 64 to write about Cooper Flagg! The Maine Event is, himself, so back, as it were. Flagg sprained his ankle in the ACC Conference Tournament quarterfinal and missed the remainder of Duke’s title run. While a brief trip out of the locker room in a wheelchair had the entire world holding their breath, wondering if March Madness’s prince-to-be would see his tournament hopes dashed before it even began. Not to be. And so here we are with a preview and prediction for my favorite Cooper Flagg prop bet in the Duke vs. Mount St. Mary’s game.
Here’s my favorite play below. Follow my handle @dansby_edits for more to-the-minute, point-of-need analyses and hoops plays throughout the tournament.
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Cooper Flagg’s top prop bet for Duke vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Cooper Flagg 5+ assists
Against a Mount St. Mary’s defense that allows 72.1 points per game (No. 182 in the nation), Flagg will be the primary facilitator, and with his ability to collapse defenses and find open teammates, five assists feels well within reach.
In the past few games, Flagg has averaged 5.1 assists over the last five. He orchestrates Duke’s offense as a playmaker, even if he’s not necessarily creating high-scoring opportunities for himself. Mount St. Mary’s allows teams to shoot 35.5% from three (No. 142 nationally), and Flagg’s perimeter passing will shine here—look for him to rack up assists feeding shooters like Kon Knueppel (15.2 PPG) and Tyrese Proctor (14.4 PPG) as they exploit the defense’s gaps. Furthermore, Mount St. Mary’s struggles to defend in transition, which aligns perfectly with Flagg’s ability to push the pace and create fast-break opportunities, leading to easy assists.
Not to mention, Duke may ease him into a more perimeter-focused game, using his passing to create scoring opportunities without putting too much strain on his ankle. This shift could translate to more opportunities for Flagg to facilitate from the outside, hitting shooters or finding cutters, especially against a Mount St. Mary’s defense that struggles in transition and allows open looks from three.
It feels right to fade points and rebounds this game. His recent ankle injury could limit his explosiveness around the rim entirely. But it could only amplify his ability to facilitate Duke’s offense from the perimeter, where Mount St. Mary’s is at its weakest.
Best bet: Cooper Flagg 5+ assists (-120)
Tail the Maine Event to facilitate Duke’s offense and clear five dimes in his first March Madness game with me in the DKN Betting Group here!
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer!
