Mount St. Mary's Matchup With Duke Just Got Harder Thanks To Cooper Flagg

Cooper Flagg will be playing in Duke's Round 1 matchup with Mount St. Mary's, and that's bad news for the Mountaineers.

Mar 8, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The 16th-ranked Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers are ready for their Round 1 matchup with top-seeded Duke on Friday afternoon. What they may not be prepared for, though, is the return of All-American freshman Cooper Flagg.

Flagg last played against Georgia Tech in the quarterfinal of the ACC basketball tournament before he rolled his ankle. That was on March 13. He missed the rest of the tournament and watched Duke beat Louisville in the ACC Tournament final from the bench while he rested and rehabbed.

There were some questions about his status heading into Round 1 with a 1-16 matchup perhaps giving him another opportunity to rest, but that's not going to be the case. On Thursday, David Hale of ESPN reported that Flagg recently went through a full practice and he's feeling pain-free.

"We've been working through the steps of just getting back to 100 percent, and I feel very good," Flagg said Thursday, per Hale. "I'm very confident moving forward."

What that means for Mount St. Mary's is that no matter how good they're feeling after their First Four win over American University, they're about to run into the 6-foot-9, 205 pound buzzsaw that is Flagg.

Likely the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this season for the Blue Devils. He shot 48.8% from the floor, 36.8% from downtown and 83% from the free throw line.

That's not to say Mount St. Mary's will shy away from the pressure — the Mountaineers held their last 14 opponents to 65.1 points per game ahead of the First Four — but Flagg is going to want to come out in this one and make a statement.

"He's been itching to get out there," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. "I think that says a lot about who he is because a lot of guys would be more patient or not as anxious to get out there. That's just not the way he's wired, his family, everybody with them."