Duke basketball has advanced to face Louisville in the ACC Tournament championship but remains short-handed in Charlotte. Freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg (sprained left ankle) and junior forward Maliq Brown (re-dislocated left shoulder) suffered injuries during Thursday’s 78-70 quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech.
Without both players on Friday night, the top-seeded Blue Devils (30-3) built a commanding 45-24 halftime lead over the No. 5 seed UNC Tar Heels (22-13) at Spectrum Center. However, Duke felt their absence in the second half as the Tar Heels mounted a comeback. Despite the challenge, the Blue Devils held on for a 74-71 victory, securing a spot in the ACC Tournament title game against the No. 2 seed Louisville Cardinals (28-6) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday (ESPN).
After the game, third-year head coach Jon Scheyer confirmed that both Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year and projected No. 1 overall draft pick, and Brown, a key defensive contributor off the bench, will remain sidelined for the championship clash.
“We need to get back to campus and figure this thing out,” the 37-year-old said of the injuries as his Blue Devils aim to add to the program’s record 22 ACC Tournament victories and cut down the conference nets for the second time under his leadership.
“Obviously, there is no anticipation that [Maliq Brown] will play anytime soon.
“Cooper is doing better. A sprained ankle. All imaging tests came out negative. He did, however, sprain it quite severely. It is a decent sprain. I’m not breaking any news: he won’t play tomorrow. He can’t play. But our goal is to have him ready for the [NCAA Tournament]. But we need to see how this weekend goes with the swelling and what he can do.”
