Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown miss No. 1 Duke’s win against rival UNC in ACC semifinals

Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown stood at the back edge of Duke’s huddle, wearing black warmup outfits on their lean frames and peering inside as Jon Scheyer directed their teammates against rival North Carolina.

The good news? The top-ranked Blue Devils held on to win that Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinal despite Flagg and Brown only able to watch from the outside due to injuries, getting valuable performances from down-the-rotation players Patrick Ngongba and Caleb Foster in bigger minutes.

The bad? They’ll be shorthanded with both out again for Saturday’s championship against No. 13 Louisville. And things didn’t exactly to plan without Flagg and Brown, with Duke blowing nearly all of a 24-point lead in the final 17 before holding on to beat the Tar Heels 74-71 in a game that could be remembered for a critical late mistake by UNC that negated a tying free throw.

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to give you the best rundown of that game,” Scheyer said after Friday night’s win. “It’s still a blur to me.”

The 6-foot-9 Flagg, a freshman star and potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick whenever he goes pro, and Brown, a versatile defender, were ruled out with a little less than two hours before tipoff. Both players were hurt in Thursday’s quarterfinal against Georgia Tech, with Flagg spraining his left ankle and Brown re-injuring a dislocated left shoulder.

Neither player was expected to play, both due to the nature of the injuries and the start of March Madness looming next week with Duke as a Final Four favorite. That tension was present again Friday night as Scheyer went ahead and ruled out Flagg — “He’s not going to play tomorrow, he can’t play,” Scheyer said — while noting Brown won’t return “anytime soon.”

Duke (30-3) responded in its first test without them, at least.

“Obviously we’re a much better team with them,” graduate guard Sion James said. “But we’ve got guys.”

Flagg’s health, and specifically his gait, was the center of attention from the moment he arrived at Spectrum Center with teammates about two hours before tipoff against the Tar Heels. The 6-foot-9 freshman, named Tuesday as the ACC player and newcomer of the year by The Associated Press, walked with no boot and no major limp on the way to the locker room.

He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked with his every step being documented by TV cameras and photographers, a nod to his status as a potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick whenever he decides to go pro.

Brown arrived with his left arm in a sling after being taken to a hospital for evaluation Thursday.

Both were on the bench for this one throughout, with Flagg wrapping a white Gatorade towel around his neck and occasionally sharing his insights on what was happening during game action.

“Coop was just telling me what he saw on the floor,” junior guard Tyrese Proctor said. “Obviously his IQ is really good.”

In the meantime, Duke got a lift from Ngongba and Foster in their larger roles behind James, Proctor, Kon Knueppel and big man Khaman Maluach.

Ngongba, a 6-11 freshman, finished with a career-high 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go with three rebounds and a block in 17 minutes. That included three dunks, some on lobs, and a score in the paint with 3:41 left and Duke trying to hold off the Tar Heels.

“He just said in the film (session) last night, he just said people have got to be ready,” Ngongba said of Scheyer.

Then there was Foster, a guard who opened the year as a starter but had seen his minutes dwindle in the season’s final month. He finished with six points, three rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes, making good on Scheyer’s long-running promise that Duke would need him at some point.

“It’s just embracing and loving the journey with my teammates,” said Foster, who had reached double figures in minutes only eight times in 12 games before Friday night.

“It’s up and down with minutes. We’re winning. So that’s all that matters. If we’re winning, minutes don’t matter at the end of the day.”

Flagg’s versatility allows him to impact the game from anywhere on the floor as a scorer (18.9), rebounder (7.5), playmaker (4.1 assists) and defender (1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals). Brown, a 6-9 forward, has defensive value going far beyond his modest stats with his ability to move his feet, switch screens, defend multiple positions and use his length to create deflections.

Brown showed that value in last weekend’s win at UNC, when he returned from a nearly three-week absence due to the previous dislocated left shoulder.

Flagg and Brown have helped Duke stand as the nation’s only team ranked in the top five nationally in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metrics for offense (128.7 points per 100 possessions) and defense (89.9) entering Friday night.

Yet the second half Friday illustrated how much smaller Duke’s margin for error will be without the duo. UNC shot 59.3% and scored 47 points after halftime, then very nearly completed the kind of comeback that would live on in rivalry lore.

Still, Duke won anyway, just as it has nearly all season.

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