Three games into his college career, two things are abundantly clear—Cooper Flagg is indeed the truth, but he's also still a freshman. The Duke phenom—and

Cooper Flagg's two late turnovers are moments that will endure in loss to Kentucky but freshman star and Blue Devils will be better for it.

Cooper Flagg’s first marquee game ended in disaster. The freshman phenom and potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft turned the ball over twice in the final 20 seconds and those giveaways played a large role in No. 6 Duke’s 77-72 upset loss to No. 19 Kentucky on Tuesday in the Champions Classic.

Duke head men's basketball coach Jon Scheyer expressed some worry Tuesday night regarding his team's recent cramping issues following a 77-72 loss

Everything was set up for Flagg to deliver a signature moment on the Champions Classic stage, but the Duke freshman was unable to come through in the final seconds.

Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg puts up big numbers against Kentucky basketball, but Wildcats get late defensive stops to seal Champions Classic win.

Duke then fouled again to put Kentucky at the line in hopes it would miss at least one free throw. The Wildcats missed the second, leaving the score at 75-72, but Flagg failed to box out his man, leading to an offensive rebound with four seconds left, ultimately ending the game.

Cooper Flagg put together a great performance against Kentucky in Duke's recent loss to the Wildcats, but his late-game turnovers proved costly for the Blue Devils.