The Duke basketball team will face the North Carolina Tar Heels for a third time this season as the status of Cooper Flagg remains unknown for the ACC Tournament Semifinals.
Flagg injured his left ankle during the final minutes of the first half in Duke’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal victory against Georgia Tech in which the Blue Devils trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half.
The ACC Player of the Year had to be helped off the floor by his teammates, unable to put any weight on his leg as he went back to the locker room. Once he arrived in the tunnel, Flagg was put in a wheelchair to be taken to the X-Ray room.
His ankle did not break and there was no structural damage other than a sprain, Jon Scheyer said, but his status for Friday night’s semifinal is still unknown. Duke also saw defensive center Maliq Brown injured a few minutes earlier than Flagg after he re-dislocated his shoulder.
Brown was put on a stretcher near the locker room and transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
The rest of the Blue Devils were still able to rally and cut its deficit to just five points at halftime before outscoring the Yellow Jackets by 13 points in the second half, winning by eight 78-70.
Its opponent will be a familiar face in the Tar Heels after North Carolina had to mount a small rally in the second half against Wake Forest after seeing a 10-point lead vanish.
RJ Davis led the charge in the 68-59 victory with 23 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.
Duke and North Carolina will meet for the second time in six days after the Blue Devils rallied inside the Dean Dome on Saturday night from a six-point deficit with 12:30 to play in order to win by 13 points, 82-69.
Brown, who has missed extended time twice this season, made his return from injury in both matchups with the Tar Heels as he made an impact on both ends of the floor while Flagg is coming off of a 15-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist showing against North Carolina on Saturday night.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN) in Charlotte.