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A seismic March injury
Duke's unlikely to play Cooper Flagg again this week after he hurt his ankle, and will have to be careful how it handles him during the NCAA Tournament. More on their title outlook. Plus, Thursday was LOADED with buzzer-beaters and game-winners. We take you through it all.
Tristan Freeman
March 14, 2025
Good morning! Thursday was such a fun, full day of basketball, let’s do it again today, shall we?
1. Where does Cooper Flagg’s injury leave Duke?
Duke’s been rolling. It’s atop the AP poll and KenPom, and with an ACC Tournament title, it’d have an argument as the No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed.
That’s all secondary now to Cooper Flagg’s health.
Flagg went up for rebound during Thursday’s 78-70 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC quarterfinals and landed hard on his left ankle. It looked brutal during replays, and only seemed like it could be quite bad when he was wheeled off to the locker room.
Cooper Flagg exited the game and was helped to the locker room after appearing to injure his left ankle in the first half against Georgia Tech.
— ESPN (@espn)
4:56 PM • Mar 13, 2025
The 6-9 freshman — and possible NPOY — returned to the bench for the second half, but did not play again. Coach Jon Scheyer said after the game that “it’s a real long shot” that he plays again this week.
“He sprained his ankle. X-rays were negative, which is great. We just have to see how he recovers and how he goes from there,” Scheyer said.
That rules him out for today’s game against 5-seed North Carolina — one can only imagine the Tar Heels’ smiles at the opportunity for a Flagg-less Quad 1 game — and places the focus on next week.
Duke won’t need him for their first-round game against a 16 seed, but the second round against the likes of UConn, Creighton, New Mexico or Kansas? That’s a different story. And that’s assuming his ankle doesn’t limit his mobility. One of Flagg’s biggest strength is his ability to cover ground on defense and guard all five positions. If he’s limited, that makes Duke vulnerable. Oddsmakers seem to agree. Some had memories of when Cincinnati lost the nation’s best player to an injury in 2000. This isn’t the same injury severity, but the same impact?
Also important for Duke (29-3) was that forward Maliq Brown also left Thursday’s game with a shoulder injury. He’s also a versatile, important defensive player. If both are limited, that’s one of the biggest storylines for next week.
2. Thursday’s buzzer-beaters and big shots
Did March Madness already arrive? Sure seemed like it on Thursday given all the late-game drama and incredible shots.
