Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Duke Gets Massive Injury News Ahead of Sweet 16

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Mar 26, 2025 3:37 PM ET

The No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils are in the Sweet 16 after wins over No. 16 Mount St. Mary's and No. 9 Baylor, both of which came by 20 or more points.

However, Duke now faces No. 4 Arizona and Caleb Love, a familiar face for Duke fans since Love was at North Carolina before.

While Duke has had no issues from Cooper Flagg after suffering an ankle injury in the ACC Tournament, reserve guard Maliq Brown has missed the first two games of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Brown suffered a shoulder injury in the same ACC Tournament game as Flagg, and still, the Blue Devils won the tournament title.

On Wednesday, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer spoke to reporters before the Sweet 16 matchup, and he revealed some important news on Brown, per Conor O'Neill of Deacons Illustrated.

"It's day-to-day with Maliq. There's a chance he could be available tomorrow night," Scheyer said.

Brown began his career at Syracuse before transferring to Duke, and he is a key rotation piece for Scheyer's squad.

During the year, Brown played in 23 games and averaged just under 17 minutes per contest with 2.6 PPG and 3.9 rebounds.

Recently, Duke has been going primarily with an eight-man rotation, although the Blue Devils were able to dip into their bench for some garbage time minutes in each of the first two March Madness wins.

If Brown comes back, it would be a big boost for the depth of Duke as Scheyer tries to lead his team to an Elite Eight trip. Duke and Arizona tip off on Thursday at 9:39 pm ET in Newark, New Jersey.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: