Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe to Face Off in Duke-Baylor

On Sunday afternoon, two of the top prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft will face off in top-seeded Duke versus ninth-seeded Baylor.

As it stands now, per most NBA Draft experts, the top players in the class rank Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg, the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, with Baylor hybrid VJ Edgecombe usually coming in fourth via a late surge.

At 1:40 p.m. CT today, Flagg and Edgecombe will face off in the second round of the tournament. And with Harper and Bailey failing to make March Madness, Sunday’s bout is likely the highest profile remaining game in the entire NCAA Tournament.

Flagg has been the consensus projected top pick all season long, only seeing a slight scoring hiccup earlier in the season before coming on strong with his two-way talent. He saw blistering stat-lines all through the year, and could’ve earned himself the National Player of the Year Award.

Across his 33 games, Flagg averaged 18.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game — numbers more than worthy of being the top selection in June.

Despite suffering an ankle injury just a week prior, Flagg was able to pour on 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in just 22 minutes in Duke’s first-round beatdown of Mount St. Mary’s. 

Edgecombe wasn’t as statistically dominant as the Blue Devil, but still managed to average 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, showing plenty of defensive prowess in leading the Bears through the Big 12.

Baylor faced stiffer competition in the first round, and Edgecombe shot just 3-for-8, but still ended up with a highly-productive day, scoring 14 points, grabbing five rebounds, dished two assists and adding one steal and block apiece.

While Edgecombe and Flagg won’t be matching up against one another often in Baylor-Duke, the game is sure to offer plenty of fireworks for fans, and film for scouts.

The projected top pick and the Blue Devils are sure to have the edge in the contest, but the Bears haven’t been pushovers amid a solid Big 12 this year. The winner between the Blue Devils and Bears will move on to face the winner of No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 5 Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen.