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There was a development in the ACC Tournament on Thursday that could have ramifications at both ends of the bracket.
Duke All-American freshman Cooper Flagg suffered a sprained ankle in the first half of the Blue Devils’ win over Georgia Tech in the ACC quarterfinals. It is unknown how long he will be out, but Duke coach Jon Scheyer sounded very pessimistic that he would be able to play in Friday’s semifinal against North Carolina.
That raises two questions: If North Carolina beats Duke, will it affect the Blue Devils’ seed? And will the committee discount the win for the Tar Heels and keep them out of the tournament if they do not go on to win the ACC?
Let’s start with what the committee will not do. It will not assume a result would be different if both teams were at full strength. The result is the result. North Carolina would likely find a spot in the bracket with a win Friday, while Duke is still a No. 1 seed even with a loss.
One thing that could possibly change that outcome for Duke is if Flagg were deemed out for the season and the committee felt that the team was diminished enough to warrant a seed change.
That has happened before, but it’s been a while.
In 2000, Cincinnati was the No. 1 team in the country led by National Player of the Year Kenyon Martin. In the first few minutes of the first game of their conference tournament, Martin broke his leg and was lost for the season. The Bearcats went on to lose that game, and the committee, thinking that Cincinnati was very much not the same without him, made them a 2-seed instead of the overall No.1. The Bearcats lost in the second round that year.
It is very unlikely that it could be determined whether Flagg will be out of the season before Selection Sunday, so this is not really the same situation as in 2000. Still, if you are a Duke fan, you have to be concerned about the Blue Devils’ prospects if this is an injury that lingers.
Bracketology top seeds
Check out Palm’s bracket and full field of 68 at the Bracketology hub.
The change in seed that is closest to the top of the bracket this morning is Texas Tech replacing Texas A&M as a 2-seed following the Aggies loss to Texas in the SEC Tournament. The Red Raiders beat Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament.
As for the bubble, only four teams are left standing now. Boise State beat San Diego State in the double bubble game on Thursday. The Broncos will face top seed New Mexico in the Mountain West semifinal on Friday.
The other bubble team in the Mountain West that is still alive is Colorado State. The second seed in the will face Utah State in the other semifinal.
Finally, Texas has been added back to the bubble following the Longhorns win over Texas A&M. They get Tennessee next in the SEC Tournament.
There are no new teams in the bracket this morning, although there was a little shuffling among the last four in. Xavier is now the last team in after falling to Marquette in the Big East Tournament. San Diego State is just ahead of them. North Carolina leads the list of teams on the first four out list.
