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Duke Gets More Injury News After Cooper Flagg Update

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Mar 20, 2025 1:55 PM ET

The Duke Blue Devils are a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and begin with a first-round game against No. 16 Mount St. Mary's on Friday.

Questions swirled about the availability of superstar Cooper Flagg, who injured his ankle in the ACC tournament against Georgia Tech.

But Duke revealed that Flagg is going to be active for the first-round showdown, which is good news for the Blue Devils.

Flagg missed the ACC tournament games against North Carolina and Louisville, although Jon Scheyer's team still won the ACC tournament.

On the other hand, Duke also played without Maliq Brown, who left early in the Georgia Tech game and was even taken to the hospital with a shoulder injury.

As Duke practiced on Thursday ahead of the opener, Scheyer did not give much specifics about Brown's availability, per Dan Wolken of USA Today.

"Jon Scheyer isn’t giving specifics but doesn’t seem as positive about Maliq Brown’s availability tomorrow," Wolken wrote on X.

Brown was spotted with the team on the floor, and the good news is that he didn't have a sling on his shoulder.

Maliq Brown is watching practice from the sidelines here in Raleigh #Duke pic.twitter.com/TfDLyzArj8
— Chanel Porter (@chanelcporter) March 20, 2025

Brown also didn't stretch with the team before practice, so it remains to be seen if he will be able to play on Friday.

Brown, who transferred from Syracuse, is averaging just 2.6 points with 3.9 rebounds per game. Still, he averages just under 17 minutes per game and has been a key part of the rotation when healthy.

Duke faces Mount St. Mary's on Friday at 2:50 pm ET, so it will be worth keeping an eye on Brown's final status.

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

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