CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke couldn’t have drawn up a worse first half of the ACC tournament.
Not just because the Blue Devils trailed 31-26 to Georgia Tech at the break — but because star freshman forward Cooper Flagg, a contender for National Player of the Year, twisted his left ankle with 2:46 until halftime and had to immediately be helped off the court. Flagg jumped to grab a rebound when he appeared to land on a teammate’s foot, at which point he crumpled to the ground.
After teammates helped him off the floor, Flagg slammed his fists into his chair on Duke’s sideline before being assisted back to the Blue Devils’ locker room. The 6-foot-9 Maine native was seen in a wheelchair as he went for an X-ray.
Duke said Flagg, who had two points and four rebounds at the time of his injury, would be doubtful to return to Thursday’s game. Graduate wing Mason Gillis started in his place to begin the second half.
His injury now looms large over Duke’s ACC and NCAA Tournament future.
Flagg’s injury was the second of the first half for a Blue Devils team among the favorites to win the national title. It came minutes after forward Maliq Brown — who has missed nine games due to injury already this season — re-injured a recent shoulder injury. Brown, arguably the most versatile defender on the nation’s fourth-best defense, was contesting a shot when he seemed to re-aggravate his shoulder injury. Brown mouthed “f—” to Duke’s trainers as soon as the injury happened, and immediately went back to Duke’s locker room for treatment.
Duke ruled Brown out for the rest of the game. His status for the NCAA Tournament is unclear.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Duke, which clinched the outright ACC regular-season title on Saturday with its 19th ACC victory. The Blue Devils were heavy favorites to double up on conference titles at this week’s league tournament, before likely earning a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday. Coach Jon Scheyer’s third team has clearly been his best, giving the Blue Devils a real chance to win their first national championship since 2015, when healthy.
While a loss to Georgia Tech on Thursday wouldn’t derail those dreams, the pair of injuries — especially to Flagg, who leads the team in every major statistical category — could. And with a half still to play, that upset is certainly a possibility. Duke only shot 11-for-30 overall against the Yellow Jackets’ physical defense, and especially struggled from deep, going 2-for-16 from behind the arc. Without Flagg and Brown, Scheyer turned to freshman big Patrick Ngongba and Gillis for the final few minutes of the first half, when Duke whittled a one-time 12-point deficit down to five at the break.
This is a developing story. More to come.
(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)