March Madness: Duke’s Cooper Flagg expected to play in NCAA Tournament

The No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils are getting their star back on the court for the start of the NCAA Tournament. 

Cooper Flagg has no injury designation and will be active for Duke against No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. 

Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, has been out for the Blue Devils since the ACC quarterfinals, where he suffered an ankle injury against Georgia Tech. 

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Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg walks to the bench during the first half against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Spectrum Center. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

But Flagg tells The New York Post on Thursday that he’s “really confident about going 100%” in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

“I had an MRI, X-Ray, both of those looked really good. So, from then it was just moving on, pain-tolerance type of things, just getting the recovery and treatment that I needed.”

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Flagg added that he was building up his ankle again by “jumping back into practice,” as well as individual workouts on the side. He had a full practice on Wednesday, which ultimately confirmed he’s ready to go. 

This is where the injury was trending for Flagg, but when it initially happened, Blue Devils fans were holding their collective breath, as their national title hopes would’ve taken a major impact if he couldn’t play in the tournament. 

Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg reacts in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. (Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)

However, Duke was still able to win the ACC Tournament, which included the absence of starting forward Maliq Brown, who is still dealing with a dislocated shoulder. 

Head coach Jon Scheyer also noted that Flagg wanted to play in the ACC title game, but Duke decided to hold him out. Now that he’s seen his star pupil in practice, Scheyer explained that his return to play was “about him being able to move properly.”

“He wasn’t going to play if he was compensating,’’ Scheyer explained on Thursday, per The Post. “Look, no matter what (with) an ankle sprain… to say he’s 100% tomorrow, he has to work through that a little bit still. But he’s not compensating.

“We built him up slowly and really progressed him the right way, but he’s ready to go.”

Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg before the game against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. (Rich Barnes-Imagn Images)

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Flagg was a consensus All-American during the 2024-25 campaign, as well as the current favorite to win Player of the Year after averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. 

Flagg is the team leader in every one of those categories. 

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