Despite spraining his left ankle in Duke’s ACC Tournament opener Thursday, Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg — a frontrunner for National Player of the Year — will be available for the NCAA Tournament, according to Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of men’s basketball.
Gavitt said Saturday on a CBS broadcast that Duke and the ACC have communicated to the selection committee that Flagg will be able participate in March Madness, which was already the expected outcome.
“What we understand from communication with Duke and the ACC is that Cooper Flagg will be available for the NCAA tournament,” Gavitt said, “so don’t expect that to impact their seeding.”
Duke is expected to be a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday, most likely in the East.
Flagg missed his first game all season Friday when Duke defeated rival North Carolina for the third time this campaign — and while the Blue Devils won, they certainly could have used Flagg’s two-way dominance in the second half, when UNC almost completed a 24-point comeback.
The 6-foot-9 freshman, who leads Duke in every major statistical category, will also miss Saturday’s ACC championship game against Louisville.
Flagg suffered his ankle injury shortly before halftime against Georgia Tech, when he landed on an opponent’s foot while coming down with a rebound. Flagg immediately crumpled to the court in pain and had to be helped off the floor by his teammates. He was quickly placed in a wheelchair and rushed for X-rays, which coach Jon Scheyer said came back negative. Scheyer said later that night that “it’s not worth it” for Duke to play Flagg again this week in Charlotte when it has larger ambitions of winning the program’s sixth national championship.
Flagg has not spoken to reporters since sustaining his injury.
But given his return to Duke’s bench later Thursday night — with a slight limp but without a protective boot — the expectation has always been that Flagg would be available for the Big Dance. On Friday, he dressed in street clothes on Duke’s bench but walked seemingly normally.
“As far as Cooper goes, he’s doing better,” Scheyer said Friday night. “Sprained ankle, all the imaging came back negative. He sprained it pretty good, though. It’s a good sprain. I’m not breaking any news. He’s not going to play (Saturday). He can’t play. But our goal is to have him ready for the tournament. But we need to see how this weekend goes with the swelling and what he can do.”
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