Duke shouldn't even entertain the thought of playing Cooper Flagg tonight after his ankle injury on Thursday vs. Georgia Tech. Common sense dictates to make sure Flagg has the best chance to go when the Big Dance starts, so we don't expect to see him tonight vs. the Tar Heels. Who, it should be noted, were hanging with the full-strength Blue Devils last Saturday in Chapel Hill until the lid went on the bucket down the stretch and Duke pulled clear to an 82-69 win. Note UNC overcame a slow start to pull clear from Wake Forest in Thursday's quarterfinals to keep its Big Dance at-large hopes alive, which would get a significant boost with a win over Duke. Play North Carolina (ACC at Charlotte)

The likely absence of sore-ankled Cooper Flagg will be felt mostly on overall scoring. A complete player, he is most impactful on offense with averages of 18.9 points and 4.1 assists. Both sides have ramped up on defense lately. Duke has allowed 57 to 70 points in its last nine outings. UNC held its three previous foes in the 50s. This total is four points higher than for the first meeting this season (albeit lower than the second). With Flagg watching, the scorekeeper should have a slower than usual work shift.

There is no possible way that Cooper Flagg is playing in the third matchup against North Carolina tonight in the ACC Tournament, and backup big and terrific defender Maliq Brown also got hurt yesterday in the comeback win over Georgia Tech. The Heels are rolling and while I don't have numbers in front of me, I can't imagine that the fairly rare times these two have met three times in a season that one has swept. I'm surprised at this line and am very tempted to play UNC moneyline.