X-rays negative after Flagg leaves Duke ACC Tournament victory with injury

X-rays negative after Flagg leaves Duke ACC Tournament victory with injury

Flagg was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair after rolling his ankle late in the first half at Spectrum Center.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke star Cooper Flagg exited the first half of Thursday’s ACC Tournament game against Georgia Tech with an ankle injury, the team announced.

Flagg took a hard fall late in the first half against the Yellow Jackets and was helped off the court by teammates. He’d just grabbed a defensive rebound when he appeared to roll his ankle. Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Flagg suffered a sprained ankle. An X-ray on Flagg’s injured ankle was negative, according to Scheyer.

Duke rallied from a 31-26 halftime deficit to take down Georgia Tech 78-70. Kon Knueppel scored 28 points in the win, while former North Meck standout Isaiah Evans scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers.

WCNC Charlotte’s Nick Carboni saw Flagg being helped to the locker room by teammates. Flagg was taken there in a wheelchair. He didn’t return to the game despite attempting to get loose during the halftime break.

Flagg entered the contest averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds per game. The ACC player and newcomer of the year returned to the bench in a walking boot. He was not available for post-game interviews.

Duke will face the winner of Thursday’s North Carolina-Wake Forest quarterfinal in Friday’s semifinals.

The Blue Devils’ record in ACC play is 19-1, and their record is 9-2 against non-conference opponents. Duke is fourth in the ACC with 34.1 points per game in the paint led by Cooper Flagg averaging 8.6.

The Yellow Jackets are 11-10 against ACC teams. Georgia Tech averages 11.4 turnovers per game and is 8-5 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents.

Duke scores 83.5 points, 11.2 more per game than the 72.3 Georgia Tech allows. Georgia Tech averages 7.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 more makes per game than Duke allows.

The teams play each other for the second time this season. Duke won the last matchup 82-56 on Dec. 21. Kon Knueppel scored 18 to help lead Duke to the win, and Baye Ndongo scored 14 points for Georgia Tech.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.