Jon Scheyer Provides Duke Basketball Injury Report for ACC Title Clash

Duke basketball freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg (sprained left ankle) and junior forward Maliq Brown (re-dislocated left shoulder) sustained their injuries during Thursday's 78-70 ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech.

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Without either on Friday night, the No. 1 seed Blue Devils (30-3) built a 45-24 halftime lead over the No. 5 seed UNC Tar Heels (22-13) in Charlotte's Spectrum Center.

It turns out Duke could've used both in the second half, although the top-ranked squad ultimately made enough plays to prevent a complete comeback by the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils picked up a 74-71 victory, advancing to face the No. 2 seed Louisville Cardinals (28-6) in the ACC Tournament championship bout at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN).

But as third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer confirmed to the media afterward, his Blue Devils will once again be without the services of both Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year and projected No. 1 overall draft pick, and Brown, a defensive sparkplug off the bench.

"We need to get back to campus and figure this thing out," the 37-year-old said about the injuries as his Blue Devils look to add to the program's record 22 ACC Tournament crowns and cut down the conference nets for the second time under his command.

"Obviously, there's no expectation of [Maliq Brown] playing anytime soon.

"As far as Cooper goes, he's doing better. Sprained ankle. All the imaging came back negative. He sprained it pretty good, though. It's a good sprain. I'm not breaking any news: he's not going to play tomorrow. He can't play. But our goal is to have him ready for the [NCAA Tournament]. But we need to see how this weekend goes with the swelling and what he can do."

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