The North Carolina Tar Heels are gearing up for their NCAA Tournament Round of 64 matchup against No. 6 seed Ole Miss, which features former Duke basketball forward Jaemyn Brakefield. The game is set to take place in Milwaukee at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday and will be televised on TNT.
UNC earned its spot in this showdown by dominating fellow No. 11 seed San Diego State in a 95-68 First Four victory on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio. This sets up an intriguing battle, as Brakefield, now a key contributor for the Rebels, will face the Tar Heels for the first time since his lone season at Duke in 2020-21. That year, the Blue Devils suffered a rare NCAA Tournament absence and were swept by UNC.
Now in his fifth collegiate season, the 24-year-old Brakefield has been a steady presence for Ole Miss, averaging 10.8 points per game on over 50% shooting from the field. Although he has not reached double-digit scoring since his 19-point, game-winning effort against Tennessee on Senior Night (March 5), he remains a valuable asset off the bench, contributing 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 22.9 minutes per contest.
Brakefield, a highly regarded four-star recruit in the 2020 class, originally committed to Duke and played one season under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. During that year, he averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game as a reserve. However, in his two appearances against UNC that season, he managed just two total points in 15 minutes of action.
Now, after transferring to Ole Miss in 2021, Brakefield is preparing for his first NCAA Tournament appearance, hoping to help lead the Rebels past a Tar Heels squad that enters the matchup with momentum.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg will be available for the NCAA Tournament after spraining his ankle.
Despite spraining his left ankle in Duke’s ACC Tournament opening on Thursday, Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg, a frontrunner for National Player of the Year, will be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, according to Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of men’s basketball.
Gavitt said in a CBS broadcast Saturday that Duke and the ACC had informed the selection committee that Flagg will be allowed to compete in March Madness, as was previously planned.
“What we understand from communication with Duke and the ACC is that Cooper Flagg will be available for the NCAA tournament,” Gavitt clarified; “so don’t expect that to impact their seeding.”
Duke is projected to get a top seed on Selection Sunday, most likely in the East.
Flagg missed his first game of the season on Friday, when Duke upset rival North Carolina for the third time this season. While the Blue Devils triumphed, they could have used Flagg’s two-way domination in the second half, when UNC came close to completing a 24-point comeback.
The 6-foot-9 freshman, who leads Duke in all major statistical categories, will also miss Saturday’s ACC Championship game against Louisville.
Flagg injured his ankle just before halftime against Georgia Tech, when he fell on an opponent’s foot while coming down with a rebound. Flagg collapsed on the court in anguish and had to be taken off the game by his teammates. He was soon transferred to a wheelchair and sent for X-rays, which, according to coach Jon Scheyer, came back negative. Later that night, Scheyer stated that “it’s not worth it” for Duke to play Flagg again this week in Charlotte when the program’s broader goal is to win its sixth national title.
Flagg has not talked with media since his injury.
However, considering his return to Duke’s bench later Thursday night — although with a minor limp and no protective boot — it was expected that Flagg would be eligible for the Big Dance. On Friday, he seemed to be walking normally while clothed in street clothes on Duke’s bench.
“As far as Cooper goes, he’s doing better,” Scheyer stated Friday night. “I had a sprained ankle, and all imaging tests came back negative. He did, however, sprain it rather severely. It is a decent sprain. I am not breaking any news. He is not going to play (on Saturday). He cannot play. But our aim is to get him ready for the competition. But we’ll see how this weekend goes with the swelling.
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