Duke is in a good position seeding-wise to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament, but there are some questions on whether they’ll be healthy enough to do so.
Freshman sensation Cooper Flagg suffered an ankle sprain in Duke’s win over Georgia Tech on Thursday that caused him to miss Duke’s final two games in the ACC Tournament, which it won on Saturday with its victory over Louisville. In that same game, forward Maliq Brown also suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for the final two games of the ACC Tournament, too.
[MORE: 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket here]
The injury to Flagg, though, could change the course of the NCAA Tournament. The forward is in a two-man race with Auburn’s Johni Broome for the National Player of the Year honors. That belief was further solidified on Tuesday as Flagg and Broome were the only two players unanimously voted onto the AP All-American first team.
Flagg is additionally considered the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. As some believe he’s one of the best NBA prospects in recent memory, Flagg’s more than lived up to the hype in his freshman season at Duke. He leads the team in essentially every major statistic, averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
As No. 1-seeded Duke takes on the winner of Wednesday’s First Four game between Mount St. Mary’s and American on Friday, here’s everything we know about Flagg’s injury.
What has Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said of Cooper Flagg’s injury?
In his most recent comments about Flagg’s injury, Scheyer seemed hopeful that his top star would be able to play in Friday’s game. However, Scheyer didn’t necessarily guarantee that Flagg would be back for the Round of 64 matchup, either.
“From my perspective, it’s full steam ahead,” Scheyer told ESPN on Sunday. 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). 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 hasn’t met with the media since Sunday, with Duke traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the first two rounds of the tournament.
Is Duke in ‘cruise control’ In the East?
What have other people close to Cooper Flagg and Duke said about his injury?
Flagg’s mother, Kelly, isn’t sounding any alarms about her son’s injury. She told People Magazine that Flagg is “feeling great.”
“I know it was really hard for him to feel helpless and not be out there with his team,” Kelly Flagg told People Magazine on Tuesday. “But I think in the long run, this may end up working out well for our team because the other guys really stepped up and they played great without him and it gave them some confidence.”
Mike Krzyzewski, who has remained close to the program since his retirement in 2022, has also stated confidence that Flagg won’t miss any time in the tournament.
“I think Jon Scheyer did a great job and our medical staff saying right from the start you’re not playing, so it puts in Cooper’s mind, ‘OK, I’m gonna be completely honest,'” he said on his podcast, “Basketball & Beyond with Coach K.” “You know this kid wants to play. I think he’s as good of a player as there is in college basketball — not think, I know he is. So, you took that out of his mind and everybody else’s mind.
“So Duke doesn’t play until Friday, and I expect Cooper to play, but we’ll be better as a result of him being out and going through those situations, going through adversity.”
Did Cooper Flagg’s injury impact Duke’s seeding in any way?
While Flagg missed Duke’s final games in its run to winning the ACC Tournament, the program privately stressed to the selection committee that it would have its star for the entire NCAA Tournament.
“What we understand from communication with Duke and the ACC, Cooper Flagg will be available for the NCAA Tournament. So don’t expect that to impact their seeding,” NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports. “He is not the only significant injury. We are tracking other injuries from other teams. Player availability is always a concern and a consideration and can potentially impact seeding, especially if a player is unavailable to play in the NCAA Tournament. Player availability is also considered in evaluating a team during the regular season based on player injuries and missed games.”
At 31-3, Duke was viewed as a lock to get a No. 1 seed. But there was some debate on whether it should get the No. 1 overall seed as it won both the ACC regular-season and tournament titles. Of course, it did the latter without Flagg in the lineup.
However, Auburn received the No. 1 overall seed when the field of 68 was announced on Sunday. The Tigers won the SEC regular-season title, but lost three of their last four games ahead of the tournament. Auburn also lost to Duke earlier in the season.
Has Cooper Flagg’s injury impacted Duke’s title odds?
Flagg’s injury doesn’t seem to have had any impact on Duke’s title odds. It has the best odds of any team to reach the Final Four, sitting at -120 odds to do so at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Tuesday evening. The Blue Devils also have the best odds to win the national championship, sitting at +320 odds to win the title on DraftKings Sportsbook.
What are FOX Sports college basketball analysts saying about Cooper Flagg’s injury and Duke’s chances to make a title run?
FOX Sports college basketball broadcaster and writer John Fanta has Duke winning the East Region, confident that Flagg will play in the tournament. He wrote that Duke has “no holes” if Flagg is healthy and ready to play.
“Flagg is expected to play in the Big Dance despite his ankle injury, and when he does reappear, it will be the single-biggest storyline in the tournament after he averaged 19/8/4 in the regular season,” Fanta wrote. “What will the phenom have in store on college basketball’s biggest stage? Watching him on both ends with his outstanding defense and ability to attack the rim is a treat.”
While Fanta has Duke in the Final Four, he believes the Blue Devils will lose to Houston in the semifinal. But FOX Sports college basketball writer Michael Cohen has Duke cutting down the nets in San Antonio.
What is Duke’s path to the national championship?
Duke received the No. 1 seed in the East Region. It’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s First Four game between Mount St. Mary’s and American on Friday.
In the likely event Duke wins in the Round of 64, it’ll take on either eighth-seeded Mississippi State or ninth-seeded Baylor. Duke’s possible Sweet 16 opponents are fourth-seeded Arizona, fifth-seeded Oregon, 12th-seeded Liberty and 13th-seeded Akron.
Alabama and Wisconsin hold the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the East Region, respectively. Sixth-seeded BYU and seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s are also among potential Elite Eight opponents if Duke makes it that far.
In addition to Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky and Purdue are on Duke’s side of the bracket. So is Clemson, who was the last team to beat Duke.
Auburn and Florida, who are the other two No. 1 seeds, are on the opposite end of Duke’s bracket.
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