Cooper Flagg taken to locker room in wheelchair at ACC Tournament

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

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. 

WCNC Charlotte’s Nick Carboni saw Flagg being helped to the locker room by teammates. Flagg was taken there in a wheelchair. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to return to Thursday’s game in the second half, but he was on the court trying to get loose, Carboni reported. 

Flagg entered the contest averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds per game. 

Georgia Tech, the 8-seed in the ACC Tournament, held a 31-26 lead at halftime. The winner will advance to the semifinals, where they’ll face either Wake Forest or North Carolina for a spot in Saturday’s championship game. Duke entered the tournament as the top seed and No. 1 ranked team nationally. 

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.

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