Key March Madness Injuries To Know Before Betting First Round, Including Duke's Cooper Flagg

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Written By Eli Hershkovich | Published at March 21, 2025
March Madness Injuries

While the field of March Madness odds is finalized, monitoring injuries is crucial. Below, you'll find which NCAA tournament injuries could impact your March Madness bets. We highly recommend bookmarking this article for an updated injury report tomorrow.

Bettors can keep track of the action with our free printable bracket, opening first-round odds and first-round bets. Click any national title odds below to place a bet now. 

[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query="bkc/ncaab_winner" size="100%x300" site_id="thelines"]

March Madness injuries: Will Cooper Flagg & j'wan roberts play?

Below is the latest injury news, whether a player is in the starting lineup or a key reverse. If his status is "out," he's presumably done for the entire NCAA tournament.

Flagg, the Wooden Award favorite before suffering an ankle injury in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, will reportedly start in Duke’s first-round tilt against Mount Saint Mary’s. Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said the “goal” is for Flagg to play on Friday.

In the last two games, fellow one-seed Houston was without Roberts, an integral low-post presence and its leading rebounder (6.3 RPG).

He sat out the Big 12 tournament championship against Arizona, wearing a walking boot while on the bench. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson noted that Roberts will be reevaluated before the first round and is currently receiving treatment.

If he suits up during the Big Dance, he'll likely operate at less than 100%. I expect him to miss at least one contest, as Houston should have its way with SIU Edwardsville. Nevertheless, his continued absence would become a bigger storyline versus No. 8 seed Gonzaga or No. 9 seed Georgia.

Alabama's Missing Piece?

After returning most of their key personnel, the Crimson Tide were among the preseason title favorites. Their odds at the best sports betting sites weren't surprising, given that their season ended with losing to eventual champion UConn in the Final Four.

However, Nate Oats' squad was dealt a substantial blow early in the campaign when starting guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was lost for the remainder of the season due to an Achilles injury. Entering the NCAA tournament, veteran forward Grant Nelson is also banged up, listed as questionable with a knee injury.

Check out additional March Madness injuries below.

NCAA Tournament Injuries By Team

Team/PlayerStatsInjuryStatus
Alabama: Grant Nelson (F)33 GP, 11.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.6 APGKneeGTD
Alabama: Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (G)8 GP, 11.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG 2.0 APGAchillesOut
Alabama State: Jalen Keago (G)19 GP, 11.7 MP, 4.2 PPGUnknownOut
Arizona: Motiejus Krivas (C)8 GP, 15.9 MPG, 7.9 PPGLegOut
Arkansas: Adou Thiero (F)26 GP, 15.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.0 APGKneeOut
Arkansas: Boogie Fland (G)18 GP, 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.7 APGHandProbable
Baylor: Josh Ojianwuna (F)23 GP, 24.6 MPG, 7.4 PPG, 6.4 RPGKneeOut
Baylor: Langston Love (G)18 GP, 8.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.2 APGAnkleProbable
BYU: Kanon Catchings (F)29 GP, 18.4 MPG, 7.6 PPG, 2.3 RPGKneeGTD
Clemson: Dillon Hunter (G)30 GP, 22.5 MPG, 5.4 PPG, 2.5 RPGHandOut
Creighton: Fedor Zugic (G)20 GP, 11.5 MPG, 4.3 PPGAnkleProbable
Creighton: Pop Isaacs (G)8 GP, 31.8 MPG, 16.3 PPGHipOut
Duke: Cooper Flagg (F)18.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.1 APGAnkleGTD
Duke: Maliq Brown (F)23 GP, 16.9 MPG, 2.6 PPG, 3.9 RPGShoulderGTD
Florida: Sam Alexis (F)23 GP, 12.3 MPG, 4.9 PPG, 3.6 RPGAnkleOut
Houston: J’Wan Roberts (F)31 GP, 10.8 PPG, 6.3 RPGAnkleProbable
Houston: Ramon Walker (G)8 GP 11.3 MPG, 2.0 PPG, 2.4 RPGHandOut
Iowa State: Keshon Gilbert (G)29 GP, 13.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.1 APGGroinOut
Iowa State: Tamin Lipsey (G)32 GP, 10.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.2 APGGroinGTD
Kansas: Shakeel Moore (G)19 GP, 14.4 MPG, 3.8 PPGFootProbable
Kentucky: Jaxson Robinson (G)24 GP, 13.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 APGWristOut
Kentucky: Kerr Kriisa (G)9 GP, 17.3 MPG, 4.4 PPG, 3.8 APGFootOut
Liberty: Isaiah Ihnen (F)11 GP, 10.4 PPG, 4.3 RPGKneeOut
Lipscomb: Dylan Faulkner (F)15 GP, 10.5 PPG, 5.3 RPGFootOut
Louisville: Kasean Pryor (F)7 GP, 12.0 PPG, 6.1 RPGKneeOut
Louisville: Reyne Smith (G)30 GP, 13.4 PPG, 2.8 RPGAnkleProbable
Maryland: Braden Pierce (C)5 GP, 7.2 MPG, 2.4 PPG, 2.4 RPGEyeOut
Memphis: Dante Harris (G)16 GP, 11.7 MPG, 2.4 PPGAnkleOut
Memphis: Tyrese Hunter (G)32 GP, 13.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3/6 APGFootGTD
Michigan: Sam Walters (F)23 GP, 12.7 MPG, 5.0 PPGBackGTD
Mississippi State: Kanye Clary (G)7 GP, 18.7 MPG, 6.3 PPGLegOut
Missouri: Mark Mitchell (F)32 GP, 14.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 APGKneeProbable
Mount St Mary’s: Carmelo Pacheco (G)30 GP, 28.2 MPG, 9.5 PPGFingerOut
Mount St Mary’s: Terrell Ard Jr. (F)21 GP, 10.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.2 APGAchillesOut
Oklahoma: Sam Godwin (F)30 GP, 19.1 MPG, 6.5 PPG, 5.2 RPGKneeGTD
Robert Morris: Dilen Miller (G)25 GP 11.9 MPG, 2.5 PPGUnknownGTD
SIUE: Darrion Baker (F)10 GP, 15.1 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 4.3 RPGUnknownOut
Saint Francis (PA): Ace Talbert (G)5 GP, 10.2 PPG, 2.8 RPGUnknownOut
St John’s: Brady Dunlap (F)10 GP, 16.5 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 2.2 RPGAbdomenOut
St John’s: Jaiden Glover (G)22 GP, 6.4 MPG, 2.2 PPGWristOut
Texas Tech: Chance McMillian (G)30 GP, 14.2 PPG, 4.1 RPGUpper BodyGTD
Texas Tech: Darrion Williams (F)30 GP, 14.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.7 APGUnknownProbable
Texas Tech: Eemeli Yalaho (F)8 GP, 11.3 MPG, 3.3 PPG, 2.4 RPGUpper BodyGTD
Xavier: Trey Green (G)9 GP, 11.0 MPG, 5.0 PPGUnknownOut

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Where Can You Bet On College Basketball Player Props?

Below is the list of states that forbid gambling on college basketball player props:

To boot, Illinois prohibits betting on local schools or in-state player props. The remaining states with legal online sportsbooks, such as North Carolina, authorize wagering on college basketball player prop odds, including local teams.

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