With the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments about to begin, here are few injuries to consider as you go about your bracket selections.
Flagg, the ACC player and rookie of the year and the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, suffered a badly sprained left ankle in the Blue Devils’ ACC tournament opener last week and hasn’t played since. But on Sunday, Duke Coach Jon Scheyer said it’s “full-steam ahead” to get Flagg back on the court for the top-seeded Blue Devils’ NCAA tournament opener on Friday against either American or Mount St. Mary’s.
“Our goal is for Friday. No question about that,” Scheyer said. Duke did not have much trouble securing the ACC tournament title without Flagg and almost certainly could get by without him against its 16th-seeded opponent on Friday, should the team decide to be cautious with Flagg’s return.
Brown seems less likely to return for Duke during the tournament after suffering a shoulder injury in the same game that Flagg was injured. Brown averages the most minutes of any of the Blue Devils’ bench players, and he’s third on the team in total steals and fifth in rebounds per game. Duke’s depth will take a hit if he’s not available.
Cyclones Coach T.J. Otzelberger announced Sunday that the team is shutting down Gilbert after he missed four of Iowa State’s final seven games with a groin injury. Gilbert, who made the all-Big 12 third team, averaged 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and the Cyclones went 1-3 in the games he missed down the stretch. Iowa State starting guard Tamin Lipsey also suffered a groin injury during the Big 12 tournament, and even though he’s expected to be back for the NCAA tournament, the Cyclones’ depth — which already wasn’t all that great to begin with — will be tested.
Tigers Coach Kim Mulkey said Johnson and Morrow — who both are in the running for national player of the year honors and both were named first-team all-SEC — will be back for third-seeded LSU’s tournament opener Saturday night against San Diego State. Mulkey held Johnson out of the SEC tournament because of shin splints. Morrow reaggravated a foot sprain when she got stepped on during the Tigers’ loss to Texas in the SEC tournament semifinals.
Fland, a freshman guard, has not played since mid-January after undergoing surgery to repair a ligament in his right thumb, but he returned to practice this past weekend and could be available for the 10th-seeded Razorbacks during their first-round game against No. 7 seed Kansas on Thursday. Fland averaged 15.1 points in 18 games this season, and his 5.7 assists per game led all power conference freshmen.
The Wildcats’ starting point guard has missed seven games over the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, including Kentucky’s 29-point loss to Alabama on Friday in the SEC tournament quarterfinals. But Coach Mark Pope said this week that “the plan is for him to play for sure. I don’t think there’s a lot of doubt in that.” Butler is Kentucky’s third-leading scorer and has the most total assists on the team despite missing so much action.
Littlepage-Buggs is the Bears’ leading rebounder by a wide margin and also averages 14.3 points per game, second only to Aaronette Vonleh’s 14.6. But the guard-forward has been out since Feb. 15 with a knee injury, and her presence might be crucial to fourth-seeded Baylor’s hopes as it opens NCAA tournament play Friday against Grand Canyon. The Bears were able to reach the Big 12 tournament final without Littlepage-Buggs, but they hope to get her back for the NCAA tournament.
Both McMahon, an all-Big Ten first-team selection, and Cambridge were knocked out of the Buckeyes’ loss to UCLA in the Big Ten tournament semifinals with injuries. Both will have nearly two weeks to recover for fourth-seeded Ohio State’s NCAA tournament opener Friday against Montana State. The two are the Buckeyes’ leading scorers, combining to average 32 points per game.
Roberts sat out the Cougars’ final two games of the Big 12 tournament after injuring his ankle in Houston’s tournament opener against Colorado. The first-team all-Big 12 selection said Sunday that he would be available for the top-seeded Cougars’ NCAA tournament opener against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Thursday. Roberts is the linchpin for one of the nation’s top defensive teams.
Crimson Tide Coach Nate Oats said Monday that Alabama “dodged one” with regards to Nelson’s left leg injury, suffered Saturday in the team’s SEC tournament semifinal loss to Florida, but added that it’s likely he will sit out the second-seeded Crimson Tide’s first-round game against Robert Morris on Friday, instead returning for a potential second-round game. “Not sure he’ll be ready by Friday,” Oats said. “We’re hoping at a minimum that he’d be ready by Sunday with the possibility of maybe Friday.” Nelson leads the Crimson Tide in rebounds and blocks and ranks second in scoring.
Hunter, the Tigers’ third-leading scorer who started 32 of 33 games this season, injured his left foot in Saturday’s American Athletic Conference semifinal win over Tulane. He didn’t play in the AAC title game Sunday against UAB. Harris, a key substitute at guard, hasn’t played since suffering a high-ankle sprain against UTSA on March 4. On Monday, Coach Penny Hardaway said Hunter is “in a little more difficult situation” than Harris for Friday’s first-round game against No. 12 seed Colorado State, though he would not rule out either player.
