For the 15th time in program history, Duke basketball found its name along the 1-seed line of the men’s NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.
But that isn’t the biggest storyline surrounding the top-ranked Blue Devils going into March Madness. Instead, that’s the status of star freshman guard Cooper Flagg.
Flagg, widely regarded as one of the top players in men’s college basketball, has missed the last two games for Duke with an apparent left ankle injury that he sustained in the ACC quarterfinals vs. Georgia Tech.
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The freshman phenom finds himself heading into March Madness in a tight head-to-head race with Auburn’s Johni Broome for national player of the year. If Flagg ends up winning the prestigious men’s college basketball individual award, he’d become the first freshman since Zion Williamson to win it.
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Duke will open its 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 21 against the winner of No. 16 seeds American and Mount St. Mary’s at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. American and Mount St. Mary’s face each other in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday, March 19.
Here’s the latest on Flagg and his status for the NCAA Tournament:
Will Cooper Flagg play in the NCAA Tournament? Status for Duke basketball star in March Madness
Yes, Flagg is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament for Duke.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer made the status of his star player known on ESPN’s “Bracketology” show on Sunday after the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed, saying the goal is for him to return Friday in the first round.
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“From my perspective, it’s full steam ahead. I want to get Coop back as quickly as I can, and he wants to do the same. Obviously, tomorrow is important. Today was an off day, we got back late (from the ACC tournament),” Scheyer said Sunday. “We are hoping he can start to progress starting tomorrow with doing some on-court work and then build up to where he can practice later in the week.
“Our goal is for Friday. No question about that.”
Scheyer’s comments on Sunday reiterated those of NCAA selection committee head Dan Gavitt that Flagg would be good for March Madness.
“What we understand from communication with Duke and the ACC is that Cooper Flagg will be available for the NCAA Tournament, so don’t expect that to impact their seeding,” Gavitt said Saturday.
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Cooper Flagg injury update
Cooper sustained a left ankle injury in the final minutes of the first half of Duke’s ACC quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech on Thursday, March 13.
The injury for the 6-foot-9 guard came at the 2:48 mark of the half after he came down with a defensive rebound following a missed 3-point attempt from Georgia Tech’s Jaeden Mustaf. While in the motion of coming down with the rebound, Flagg appeared to land in an awkward position that led to rolling his ankle.
Flagg immediately grabbed his ankle as he hit the court floor.
He walked off with a significant hobble. Members of Duke’s medical staff tended him on the Blue Devils’ bench briefly before bringing him back to the locker room, where he underwent further testing, including X-rays, which came back negative, per Scheyer.
Duke held Flagg out for its ACC semifinal against North Carolina and ACC championship game against Louisville. In his news conference after the win over Georgia Tech, Scheyer said it would be a “long shot” for Flagg to play in the ACC semifinal (and then championship game), as the NCAA Tournament was coming up.
“To be honest with you, I would have to be, like, convinced by everybody in the locker room when I go back there that he should play. It’s not worth it. It just isn’t,” Scheyer said on Thursday. “We’ve got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the tournament.”
What is Cooper Flagg’s injury?
Scheyer told reporters at the ACC tournament on Thursday that his star player is dealing with a left ankle sprained ankle after X-rays came back negative.
“Cooper, he just came down, sprained his ankle, X-rays were negative, which is great,” Scheyer said. “We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”
Cooper Flagg stats
Here’s a look at Flagg’s season stats entering his first NCAA Tournament:
- Points: 18.9
- Rebounds: 7.5
- Assists: 4.1
- Blocks: 1.3
- Steals: 1.5
- Shooting: 48.8
- 3-point shooting: 36.8%
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