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Alabama

Grant Nelson skies for ridiculous block on Cooper Flagg dunk attempt

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•03/29/25
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© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

One of the most anticipated games of the year happened on Saturday night in the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Alabama faced off, and Grant Nelson made one of the most spectacular plays of the tournament. Duke superstar Cooper Flagg levitated for a dunk, when Nelson skied for an insane block, crashing to the ground after doing so. It was without a doubt, one of the best defensive plays of the tournament.

Duke put together an impressive defensive performance, limiting the Crimson Tide to just 65 points. Grant Nelson still managed to put in 10 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Mark Sears had a tough night in his final college game, only hitting one of five shots from beyond-the-arc. The Crimson Tide still got double digits from Labaron Philon (16 points) and Chris Youngblood (10 points).

Duke was dominant for much of the game on the defensive end, not allowing Alabama to get into an offensive rhythm on Saturday night. The Blue Devils held the Crimson Tide to their second lowest point total of the 2024-2025 season. Keep in mind, Alabama was the highest scoring team in all of college basketball and just put up 113 points in their last game. Cooper Flagg was very efficient and productive, chipping in 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one block.

The good news for Duke fans is that Flagg had plenty of help on Saturday evening. It came from their plethora of NBA prospects, Khaman Maluach (14 points), Kon Knueppel (14 points), and Tyrese Proctor (17 points). Maluach was a real force inside, bothering Alabama for much of the night on the defensive end. Even though he only had two blocks, if you could count altered or affected shots, it was easy to see he was a massive problem. And that’s exactly why he’s such a highly coveted NBA prospect. Maluach also had nine rebounds.

Duke was dominant on the glass, outrebounding the Tide 41-30. Tyrese Proctor continued his hot streak of recent play, connecting on two of five shots from beyond-the-arc. He also hit seven of his ten field goals, while stuffing in five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Duke is headed to the Final Four for the first time since 2022.