Duke forward Cooper Flagg celebrates after their win against Louisville after an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)2025-03-20T17:28:28Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg says hell be ready to play fully in Fridays NCAA Tournament opener against Mount St. Marys as he recovers from a sprained ankle.I feel very good, he said Thursday. Im very confident moving forward.The unanimous Associated Press first-team All-American rolled his left ankle during the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals and missed the Blue Devils wins in the semifinals and title game. That sent Duke into March Madness with the No. 1 seed in the East Region bracket.The school posted on social media Thursday that Flagg would be active for Fridays game. After that, Flagg attended a players news conference and said he been able to return to full practice Wednesday.Flagg said he hated every second of not being able to play during the ACC Tournament after the injury, but X-rays and an MRI both came back with encouraging results to indicate his absence wouldnt be long. Ive rolled my ankle a good amount of times growing up playing basketball, Flagg said. Usually Im able to just tie my shoe and walk it off. It was definitely a little bit of a different feeling as soon as I rolled my ankle this time, I knew it was a little bit more severe and a little more serious. The Blue Devils first-round game in their home state is one of six games in the East bracket on Friday. The list includes No. 8 seed Mississippi State facing Baylor, also in Raleigh, North Carolina. In Cleveland, No. 2 seed Alabama will face 15-seed Robert Morris, while 7-seed Saint Marys will meet 10-seed Vanderbilt.And in Seattle, No. 4 seed Alabama meets 13-seed Akron, while No. 5 seed Oregon meets 12th-seeded Liberty.___This story has been corrected to show Dukes first game is Friday, not Thursday.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AARON BEARD Beard covers sports in North Carolina for The Associated Press with an emphasis on college basketball. His coverage includes ACC sports and the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes. twitter mailto