As expected, the Duke Blue Devils got a No. 1 seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament from the selection on Sunday. And that’s despite the concern about the health Duke basketball superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, who did not play in the Blue Devils’ last two games.
Flagg, expected to be the top overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, suffered an ankle injury during the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament against Damon Stoudamire’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He was unavailable for Duke basketball’s conference tourney semis encounter with rivals North Carolina Tar Heels and in the ACC Tournament title game versus the Louisville Cardinals. Fortunately for Duke, it survived both contests without Flagg.
As for Flagg’s status for the Big Dance, Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer seemed confident that his best player will be there on the court when his team faces off against the winner of the First Four matchup between No. 16 seeds Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers and American University Eagles.
“From my perspective, it’s full steam ahead,” Scheyer said to ESPN’s Rece Davis on Sunday (h/t ESPN). “I want to get Coop back as quickly as we can, and he wants to do the same.”
Scheyer also shared Flagg has his eyes on returning to action in time for the Blue Devils’ first-round assignment.
“So our goal is for Friday, no question about it. I know that’s his goal as well.
There is also the gamble of letting Flagg rest a little more by sitting him out in the first-round matchup, considering the overpowering odds against a 16-seed beating a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Cooper Flagg’s injury an additional March Madness narrative for Duke basketball
The 18-year-old Flagg is unquestionably Duke basketball’s best player, as evidenced by the hard fact that he led the team during the 2024-25 regular season in points (18.9), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.1), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.2).
But that’s also not to say that the Blue Devils lack depth and that Flagg is the be-all and end-all of Duke basketball. They showed that when they defeated the Tar Heels and the Cardinals without Flagg, thanks in large part to the presence of another freshman in Kon Knueppel, who won the 2025 ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player award after averaging 21.0 points in the conference tourney.
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