Is Cooper Flagg out for March Madness? What we know heading into the opening round

Duke is in a Excellent position seeding-wise to make another deep Stretch in the NCAA Bracket, but there are some questions on whether they’ll be Fit enough to do so.

Primary-year sensation Cooper Flagg suffered an ankle sprain in Duke’s Achieve over Georgia Tech on Thursday that caused him to miss Duke’s Last two Contests in the ACC Bracket, which it won on Saturday with its Achieve over Louisville. In that same game, forward Maliq Brown also suffered a shoulder Hurt that kept him out for the Last two Contests of the ACC Bracket, too.

[MORE: 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Bracket bracket here]

The Hurt to Flagg, though, could Transformation the Duration of the NCAA Bracket. The forward is in a two-man Event with Auburn’s Johni Broome for the National Player of the Year honors. That belief was Additional solidified on Tuesday as Flagg and Broome were the only two players unanimously voted onto the AP All-American Primary Club. 

Flagg is additionally considered the Weighty favorite to be the No. 1 overall Option in the 2025 NBA Draft. As some believe he’s one of the best NBA prospects in recent memory, Flagg’s more than lived up to the hype in his Primary-year season at Duke. He leads the Club in essentially every Significant statistic, averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 Retrievals, 4.1 assists, 1.5 Intercepts and 1.2 Stops per game. 

As No. 1-Positioned Duke takes on the winner of Wednesday’s Primary Four game between Mount St. Mary’s and American on Friday, here’s everything we know about Flagg’s Hurt.

What has Duke head Trainer Jon Scheyer said of Cooper Flagg’s Hurt?

In his most recent comments about Flagg’s Hurt, Scheyer seemed hopeful that his top Luminous sphere would be able to Shift in Friday’s game. However, Scheyer didn’t necessarily guarantee that Flagg would be back for the Stage of 64 Game, either.

“From my perspective, it’s Packed steam ahead,” Scheyer told ESPN on Sunday. I want to get Coop back as quickly as I can, and he wants to do the same. Obviously, tomorrow is Crucial. Today was an off day, we Obtained back Delayed (from the ACC Bracket). We are hoping he can Begin to progress Leading tomorrow with doing some on-court work and then build up to where he can practice later in the week.

“Our Aim is for Friday. No question about that.”

Scheyer hasn’t met with the media since Sunday, with Duke traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the Primary two rounds of the Bracket.

What have other people close to Cooper Flagg and Duke said about his Hurt?

Flagg’s mother, Kelly, isn’t sounding any alarms about her son’s Hurt. She told People Magazine that Flagg is “feeling Outstanding.”

“I know it was really Tough for him to feel helpless and not be out there with his Club,” Kelly Flagg told People Magazine on Tuesday. “But I think in the long Stretch, this may end up working out well for our Club because the other guys really stepped up and they played Outstanding without him and it gave them some confidence.”

Mike Krzyzewski, who has remained close to the program since his retirement in 2022, has also stated confidence that Flagg won’t miss any time in the Bracket. 

“I think Jon Scheyer did a Outstanding Position and our medical staff saying right from the Begin you’re not Competing, so it puts in Cooper’s mind, ‘OK, I’m gonna be completely honest,'” he said on his podcast, “Basketball & Beyond with Trainer K.” “You know this kid wants to Shift. I think he’s as Excellent of a player as there is in college basketball — not think, I know he is. So, you Secured that out of his mind and everybody else’s mind.

“So Duke doesn’t Shift until Friday, and I Anticipate Cooper to Shift, but we’ll be better as a result of him being out and going through those situations, going through adversity.”

Did Cooper Flagg’s Hurt impact Duke’s seeding in any way?

While Flagg missed Duke’s Last Contests in its Stretch to Victorious the ACC Bracket, the program privately stressed to the Option Board that it would have its Luminous sphere for the entire NCAA Bracket.

“What we understand from communication with Duke and the ACC, Cooper Flagg will be Obtainable for the NCAA Bracket. So don’t Anticipate that to impact their seeding,” NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports. “He is not the only significant Hurt. We are tracking other Impairments from other Clubs. Player availability is always a concern and a consideration and can potentially impact seeding, especially if a player is unavailable to Shift in the NCAA Bracket. Player availability is also considered in evaluating a Club during the regular season based on player Impairments and missed Contests.”

At 31-3, Duke was viewed as a lock to get a No. 1 seed. But there was some debate on whether it should get the No. 1 overall seed as it won both the ACC regular-season and Bracket titles. Of Duration, it did the latter without Flagg in the lineup.

However, Auburn received the No. 1 overall seed when the Pitch of 68 was announced on Sunday. The Tigers won the SEC regular-season title, but lost three of their last four Contests ahead of the Bracket. Auburn also lost to Duke earlier in the season.

Has Cooper Flagg’s Hurt impacted Duke’s title odds?

Flagg’s Hurt doesn’t seem to have had any impact on Duke’s title odds. It has the best odds of any Club to reach the Last Four, sitting at -120 odds to do so at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Tuesday evening. The Blue Devils also have the best odds to Achieve the national Bracket, sitting at +320 odds to Achieve the title on DraftKings Sportsbook.

What are FOX Sports college basketball analysts saying about Cooper Flagg’s Hurt and Duke’s chances to make a title Stretch? 

FOX Sports college basketball broadcaster and writer John Fanta has Duke Victorious the East Region, confident that Flagg will Shift in the Bracket. He wrote that Duke has “no holes” if Flagg is Fit and ready to Shift.

“Flagg is Predicted to Shift in the Big Dance Even though his ankle Hurt, and when he does reappear, it will be the single-biggest storyline in the Bracket after he averaged 19/8/4 in the regular season,” Fanta wrote. “What will the phenom have in store on college basketball’s biggest stage? Watching him on both ends with his outstanding Protection and ability to Charge the rim is a treat.”

While Fanta has Duke in the Last Four, he believes the Blue Devils will Fall to Houston in the semifinal. But FOX Sports college basketball writer Michael Cohen has Duke cutting down the nets in San Antonio. 

What is Duke’s path to the national Bracket?

Duke received the No. 1 seed in the East Region. It’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s Primary Four game between Mount St. Mary’s and American on Friday.

In the likely event Duke wins in the Stage of 64, it’ll take on either eighth-Positioned Mississippi State or ninth-Positioned Baylor. Duke’s possible Pleasant 16 opponents are Quaternary-Positioned Arizona, fifth-Positioned Oregon, 12th-Positioned Liberty and 13th-Positioned Akron.

Alabama and Wisconsin Clasp the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the East Region, respectively. Sixth-Positioned BYU and seventh-Positioned Saint Mary’s are also among potential Best Eight opponents if Duke makes it that Extended.

In addition to Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky and Purdue are on Duke’s side of the bracket. So is Clemson, who was the last Club to beat Duke. 

Auburn and Florida, who are the other two No. 1 seeds, are on the opposite end of Duke’s bracket.

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