The No. 1 Duke basketball program earned a painful win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament on Thursday. The Blue Devils outlasted the Yellow Jackets 78-70 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte to advance to the semifinal round on Friday.
Duke had two key players go down in the game. Star freshman Cooper Flagg sprained his left ankle in the first half and had to be helped off the court. He did not return to the game and finished with two points and four rebounds.
Maliq Brown also suffered an injury. He suffered a dislocated shoulder against Virginia on Feb. 17.
Duke basketball has an update on Cooper Flagg, Maliq Brown
Following the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer provided an update on Flagg on Brown. He said Brown was “in a lot of pain” and is currently in the hospital after re-dislocating his shoulder. The Blue Devils are concerned about swelling in Flagg’s ankle.
“I’ll just tell you real quick, look, Maliq was in a lot of pain, he re-dislocated his shoulder, that’s why I’m sure some of you saw it, we got him a stretcher just to tolerate the pain,” Scheyer said via video from Fox College Hoops. “He was in a lot of pain, and he’s at the hospital now. We’ll figure out how he’s doing. I’m going to figure out if I can go see him.
“And (with) Cooper, he just came down, sprained his ankle, x-rays were negative, which was great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer gives updates on Maliq Brown and Cooper Flagg's injuries ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Yew3FEMZZG
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 13, 2025
Two big hurts for Duke
Brown, a junior from Culpeper, Virginia, has been a key player off the bench, averaging 2.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Flagg is the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s averaging 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
Duke is set to play on Friday night at 7 p.m. EST. It’s unknown who they will play in the semifinal.
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