Top-ranked Duke and the Atlantic Coast Conference informed the NCAA Tournament selection committee over the weekend that potential No. 1 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg will be available for March Madness, NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt said.
Gavitt made the comments on CBS in the lead-up to Sunday’s announcement of the field of 68 teams. Flagg sprained his left ankle during Duke’s win against Georgia Tech on Thursday in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The 6-foot-9 forward — named the ACC player and newcomer of the year by The Associated Press on Tuesday — missed Friday’s semifinal win against rival North Carolina. Afterward, coach Jon Scheyer ruled Flagg out for Saturday night’s title game against No. 13 Louisville, which they would go on to win 73-62.
Flagg sat on the bench in black warmups during the UNC game, standing at the back of huddles with injured teammate Maliq Brown. Flagg walked with no major limp or protective boot during Friday’s game. He was healthy enough to scale a ladder a snip a piece of the net after the tourney win over Louisville.
“I think it’s trending in a great way where Cooper will be ready to go right away in the NCAA Tournament,” coach Jon Scheyer said afterward.
Gavitt said Flagg’s status isn’t the only injury the committee is tracking through the weekend since player availability can play a factor in a team’s seeding.
Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East region and will begin play Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, the home of ACC neighbor North Carolina State and roughly a 30-minute drive from Duke's campus in Durham. They will face the winner of a First Four matchup between American and Mount St. Mary’s in a bracket that includes Alabama, Wisconsin and Oregon.
