Cooper Flagg missed the final 11:27 of the first half in No. 2 Duke's 100-65 win over Florida State on Saturday after taking a pair of blows to the face. But the freshman phenom returned in the second half and finished with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting to avoid losing any ground in the national player of the year race.

A national player of the year candidate and the projected No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg was twice hit in the face and did not finish the first half against Florida State.

Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg returned for the second half of the No. 2 Blue Devils’ game against Florida State on Saturday after leaving in the first following a hard foul.