By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke star Cooper Flagg left his team’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday with a left ankle injury and is doubtful to return.
The ACC player and newcomer of the year returned to the bench early in the second half, walking under his own power. He was not wearing a boot on his foot, but did not appear as though he planned to return to the game.
The top-ranked Blue Devils were trailing 26-17 late in the first half when Flagg went up for a rebound and crashed to the floor after he appeared to have his left foot land on the foot of Georgia Tech’s Baye Ndongo. He hobbled back to the bench in clear distress, then bent over with his hands on the seats and pounded a chair with his right fist.
After sitting on the bench for a few minutes, Flagg got up and put his arms around two teammates and was taken to the locker room for observation. He was later shown in a wheelchair in the bowels of the Spectrum Center, possibly being taken for X-rays.
Duke entered the game 28-3 but got off to a rough start missing its first 13 3-point shots to fall behind 14 to the unranked Yellow Jackets.
Duke clawed back to within five at the break.
Duke was projected as the likely No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament coming into the game after taking over the top spot in the rankings this week. The Blue Devils had won eight straight games before the ACC Tournament.
Duke’s Maliq Brown also left the game with a shoulder injury and will not return. The 6-foot-9 Brown is a key reserve and versatile defender who is viewed as a vital cog in Duke’s championship hopes. He had returned against North Carolina last weekend after missing about three weeks with a shoulder injury.
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This story has been corrected to show that Flagg appeared to land on the foot of Baye Ndongo, not Darrion Sutton.