NEW YORK – Kon Knueppel came to Duke with a reputation as an outstanding shooter, and he’s done nothing to disprove that.

But early in the season, and well into December, the 6-7 Wisconsin native seemed to hesitate when the opportunity to drive the ball arose. Knueppel preferred to drift behind the arc, and when those shots weren’t falling, his impact on the Blue Devils’ offense was negligible.

Well, whether it was getting more comfortable in college ball or the coaches’ urging paying off, Knueppel has become a much more versatile offensive force, and it was noticeable Saturday night in Duke’s crushing 110-67 win over Illinois at Madison Square Garden.

The future NBA lottery pick pounded the ball inside and attacked perhaps more than he has all season; Knueppel made six field goals Saturday and only one of those was a 3- pointer.

Knueppel finished with 15 points.

“It’s a difference maker,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “Obviously he can really shoot the ball, he’s got great size, and he’s got really good footwork in the paint. Sometimes with our collective size there are mismatches. But most importantly just him being in attack mode.”

In the five games prior to Saturday, Knueppel had made nine 3s and 10 2-pointers, diversifying his game in a way that makes Duke’s offense that much more unstoppable.

He has gotten much stronger with the ball in his hands as well, with only four turnovers in his last six games.

“Some games he’s going to shoot a lot of 3’s, other games he can hurt teams with penetration, and finishing at the rim,” Scheyer added. “But it definitely changes our team.”

When a broken foot slowed his entrance into the Duke rotation this season, it was unclear how much of an impact freshman center Patrick Ngongba II would have.

But the big fella has shown he’s absolutely ready to contribute the last few weeks, and Saturday night’s win over Illinois was another positive step for him. Ngongba played 14 Minutes and scored five points, had six rebounds (four offensive) and three assists. He was Scheyer’s first sub off the bench against Illinois and played solid defense, while being active on offense.

Ngongba’s emergence also gives Duke another big body in case Khaman Maluach gets into foul trouble come the NCAA tournament.

“Patrick gave us big minutes, he’s been great,” Sion James said. “Everybody has to step up without Maliq (Brown).”

Cooper Flagg said his first game ever at the World’s Most Famous Arena was exactly what he’d hoped for.

“It was an incredible atmosphere; I loved the energy,” Flagg said. “I saw so much blue in the crowd, which Coach told us we would see. It was just incredible.”

Flagg had a slow start Saturday, making just one field goal in the first half, before coming on after the break, with two thunderous dunks bringing the fans to their feet. He finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

It was a great day for the Flagg family, as Cooper’s brother, Ace, helped his Greensboro Day team win a state championship on Saturday.

“Haven’t talked to specifically him, but in our family group chat they were talking about it,” Cooper Flagg said. “Just proud of him. He got three state championships in three different states in high school, so that’s pretty cool.”

While this was Duke’s only regular-season game in the New York area this season, it’s looking very likely the Blue Devils will be back in the tri-state area in the next few weeks.

The East Regional is set for Newark, N.J., March 27 and 29th, and with Duke slated by most bracketologists to be a 1 seed in the East, it’s certainly possible they’ll be at the Prudential Center in a month.

Of course, the state of New Jersey has been exceptionally good to the Blue Devils over the years, especially the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands.

Caleb Foster began the season as a starting guard for the Blue Devils, but his stock fallen. The sharpshooting sophomore didn’t get into Saturday’s blowout until there was 8:36 left and the score was 83- 49.

But even if Foster doesn’t get any meaningful playing time anymore, he showed he could still light it up. He scored 12 points in eight minutes of the second half during garbage time.

It’s not inconceivable Foster’s shooting will be needed by Duke at some point in the postseason, so how he handles his limited minutes the rest of the season, attitude-wise, will be something to watch.