Cooper Flagg quiets Arizona crowd as Duke aces first road test - ESPN

TUCSON, Ariz. — Seconds after No. 12 Duke's players ran onto the court for pregame introductions at the McKale Center on Friday night, someone in the crowd hurled a beer can in their direction.

That moment did not define the largely positive and vibrant atmosphere at the arena, where Cooper Flagg's 24-point effort led the Blue Devils to a 69-55 win over No. 17 Arizona.

But throughout the game, building security and local police gathered near Duke's tunnel and the team's family and friends section because of concerns that additional objects would be thrown, sources told ESPN. Those same security and police personnel also entered the Arizona student section at halftime to address at least one fan's behavior.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer said he didn't notice the off-the-court chaos, a metaphor for the way his team responded in its first true road game of the season.

«I didn't even see that,» Scheyer said afterward about the beer-can incident. «First of all, I thought the environment and atmosphere was top notch. I mean, people were respectful. I thought there was just a big-time college basketball crowd, but at the end of the day, the crowd doesn't control how you defend, how you sprint back on defense, how you take care of the ball.»

More than 14,000-plus gathered for the highly anticipated matchup involving a pair of teams that hadn't met in Tucson since the 1980s. The notable personalities in the crowd gave the game a prime-time vibe. Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and his teammates faced an Arizona squad led by Caleb Love, a preseason All-American.

Mike Bibby and Gilbert Arenas, a pair of former NBA stars who anchored some of Arizona's greatest teams, sat in the front row. Phoenix Suns star Bradley