Injured Duke Basketball Star Could Miss Entire NCAA Tournament

The Blue Devils may be without a key player for the rest of the season

The Duke basketball team is struggling as they approach the end of the conference season, and things aren’t expected to get easier for the Blue Devils on Saturday night in the ACC Tournament Championship against Louisville.

Maliq Brown, Duke’s key backup center, will miss the title game after re-dislocating his shoulder during the Blue Devils’ quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech and may be out for the NCAA Tournament.

“We need a couple of days to assess this,” Jon Scheyer said about Brown’s injury following the 74-71 win over North Carolina in the semifinals.

“We need to get back to campus and evaluate things. Clearly, we don’t expect him to be playing anytime soon.”

Scheyer shared in his Thursday press conference that Brown was stretchered out of the arena and taken to the hospital for further evaluation. On Friday night, Brown was on the Duke bench with his arm in a sling.

Despite the setback, the Blue Devils managed to get 25 points from their freshmen centers, Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba, who shot a combined 12-of-14.

Ngongba performed admirably in Brown’s absence after missing four games due to his own shoulder dislocation. His career-high point performance arrived at the perfect moment, and he could help fill the void left by the Syracuse transfer.

“Pat’s confidence is 100%,” Scheyer said. “It’s just about the opportunity. You never want to see that happen with Maliq, but Pat has made so much progress this year—working on his body and doing extra in the weight room. He’s really smart for a big guy.”

“His poise is impressive. He doesn’t get rattled at all and is always ready.”

Duke also had star player Cooper Flagg sit out the semifinal victory due to an ankle injury he sustained in the quarterfinals.

The Blue Devils and Cardinals will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) in Charlotte.