Houston ready to pit top D against Flagg, Duke

SAN ANTONIO -- To beforehand to Monday's nationalist rubric game, Houston volition person to bushed Duke, the favourite to triumph the NCAA championship, and Cooper Flagg, the precocious named Associated Press Player of the Year, connected Saturday.

But the Cougars, the champion antiaircraft squad successful the country, judge they person a crippled program to dilatory Flagg down.

"We conscionable cognize we person to guard," Joseph Tugler, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year who has averaged 5.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks this season, said Friday. "He's their prima player. He wants to people the ball. We've got to halt him. Stop him first. We person to instrumentality distant his archetypal changeable and marque him a passer. Take him distant from the game."

J'Wan Roberts, an all-Big 12 antiaircraft squad and all-Big 12 archetypal squad selection, agreed with his teammate and said the Cougars person to marque Flagg "uncomfortable" connected Saturday via their carnal benignant of defense.

That aforesaid benignant constricted Tennessee to 15 points successful the archetypal fractional of their Elite Eight matchup with Houston connected Sunday, the lowest tally successful a azygous fractional for a top-two effect successful NCAA tourney history.

"No 1 likes dealing with physicality, particularly erstwhile you're playing the crippled of basketball," Roberts said. "You privation to beryllium capable to get the cleanable changeable up. You privation to bash everything smoothly, but if idiosyncratic is successful your airspace, you're not arsenic comfy arsenic you would beryllium [normally]. When you person a squad similar america that takes pridefulness successful defence and limits teams to 1 changeable astir of the time, it's benignant of hard to get into the groove of the game, particularly compared to a squad that lets you beryllium comfortable."

During the NCAA tournament, Flagg has been comfortable. He has averaged 19.5 points per game, portion connecting connected 42% of his shots from beyond the arc and 87% of his escaped propulsion attempts. He has besides averaged 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Defending the projected No. 1 prime successful the 2025 NBA draught volition request a squad effort, Tugler said. He added that Houston's extremity against immoderate squad is to frustrate the hostile by getting 3 stops successful a row. The Cougars telephone that drawstring a "kill stop." To enactment themselves successful that spot against Duke, the Cougars cognize they'll person to situation Flagg.

"We person to instrumentality distant his close hand, marque him spell to his rotation move," Tugler said. "We person to marque him gain his changeable and enactment for it. We person to marque it hard for him and assistance out, assistance each different out."

On Friday, it was wide that the Cougars understood the monumental task up against a first-year endowment who is arguably the champion subordinate successful America. Though they respect Flagg and the accomplishment acceptable that has led to a multitude of postseason accolades, they said they're acceptable to play the aforesaid marque of hoops that has helped the squad spell 30-1 since Nov. 30.

"He's a large player," Milos Uzan said. "We person a batch of respect for him. But astatine the extremity of the day, we're going to spell retired determination and we're going to compete. I consciousness similar we're going to bash immoderate it takes to get the win."