Duke basketball dealt Cooper Flagg, Maliq Brown injury blows in ACC Tournament

The Duke basketball team opened up their ACC Tournament run against Georgia Tech on Thursday, and the first half of the game has not gone to plan for the Blue Devils. Georgia Tech led by as many as 14 points in the first half, and the injury bug has hit Duke. Star freshman Cooper Flagg and forward Maliq Brown both went down with injuries.

Cooper Flagg went to the locker room after injuring his left leg, and he seemed to be in a lot of discomfort.

“Flagg is now being helped to the locker room,” Rob Dauster said in a post. “He is not putting any weight on his left leg.”

Maliq Brown has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and he left the game in a lot of pain as well.

“Maliq Brown is now out with a shoulder injury,” Jonathon Warriner said in a post. “This game has gone from bad to worse for the Blue Devils.”

It’s unclear how severe the injuries are at the moment as both players are still being evaluated, but Cooper Flagg was shown in a wheelchair shortly after the injury. Flagg is doubtful for the rest of Thursday’s game against Georgia Tech, and Brown will not return.

“Duke’s Cooper Flagg (ankle) is doubtful to return to today’s ACC Tournament Game against Georgia Tech, per a school spokesman,” Jon Rothstein said in a post. “Maliq Brown (shoulder) is OUT.”

Losing Flagg would obviously be disastrous for the Duke basketball team as he is the best player in college basketball. Losing Maliq Brown would be incredibly unfortunate as well as he is also a key player on this team.

Duke did do a good job of fighting back after going down by 14 points, and they were able to trim the deficit down to five by halftime. They will likely be without a couple of key players down the stretch, so it should be an interesting finish. Even if the Blue Devils lose, they will get a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Still, this team wants to win the ACC Tournament.