The Duke Blue Devils are gearing up to take on the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers in the first round of March Madness. Barring a historic upset, Duke, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, should advance to the second round and make a deep run. However, the bigger concern lies in Cooper Flagg’s ankle injury, which sidelined him for the ACC Tournament semifinal and championship game.
As the biggest tournament in college basketball approaches, the Blue Devils are hoping their star player can be back available and fully healthy during the competition.
Regardless, it may be wise for head coach Jon Scheyer to preserve Flagg during the early games—though he’d be taking a risk, it’s a relatively mild one. However, Flagg is eager to be on the court with his teammates as they embark on a challenging run through the East Region.
Ahead of Duke‘s first test against what should be a very favorable opponent on paper, Cooper Flagg was asked about his health status, leading to a two-word response about his feelings going into the game.
“Pain-free,” Cooper Flagg stated about his ankle injury, as reported by ESPN’s David Hale. Following Flagg’s statement it is believed he will be fully healthy and will participate during the Blue Devils matchup with the Mountaineers.
Odds are in Duke’s favor
Whether Flagg is healthy enough to play against Mount St. Mary’s or not, many believe Scheyer should keep the star out of harm’s way and allow him to continue his recovery. After all, Duke is expected to handle the No. 16 seed comfortably, with or without Flagg.
If the Blue Devils were to lose to the Mountaineers, the school in Durham would join an exclusive—and infamous—club, becoming just the third program ever to fall as a No. 1 seed to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Historic upsets
In 2018, the No. 16 UMBC Retrievers handed the Virginia Cavaliers the most humiliating defeat in program history, knocking them out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round.
Just five years later, the last-seeded FDU Knights pulled off another historic upset by toppling the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers. Before this year’s tournament began, No. 1 seeds held a dominant 154-2 record against No. 16 seeds.