College Basketball Injury Report for the Sweet Sixteen
After a big first weekend of the NCAA Tournament where chalk seemed to hold for the most part, we've got a number of big-time matchups to look forward to in the Sweet Sixteen between powerhouse programs. We had a number of players with injury concerns going into the Round of 64, and thankfully a lot of those concerns have been put to bed. That said, there's still a handful of names to watch out for leading up to Thursday's and Friday's Sweet Sixteen games. We'll take you through all you need to know, region-by-region.
Our college basketball injury report also keeps track of injuries in real-time throughout the day, so be sure to bookmark this page to stay up to date with the latest news before brackets lock.
NCAA Tournament Key Injuries
East Region Key Injuries:
Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
Status: Will Play - Ankle
Any concerns about Flagg's ankle injury he suffered in the ACC Tournament can likely be put to rest. The expected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft had 14 points, seven boards, four assists and two blocks in the Round of 64 rout over Mount St. Mary's, and then followed that with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in a 23-point win over Baylor in the Round of 32. Flagg did not appear to be limited in either game, but Duke was able to roll with him playing just 22 and 29 minutes, respectively. He'll now get some time to continue to rest his ankle before Duke's Sweet Sixteen matchup against Arizona. The Wildcats are a physical team that have a lot of different bodies they will be able to throw at Flagg.
Maliq Brown, F, Duke
Status: Questionable - Shoulder
Brown was unable to go for the first weekend of March Madness due to a separated shoulder he suffered in the ACC Tournament. The good news was that he was not wearing a sling on the sidelines against Baylor on Sunday. Brown is likely still a long shot to be able to suit up Thursday night against Arizona, but Duke has not ruled him out at this point. Brown has been a solid role player in the frontcourt this season averaging 2.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 16.8 minutes per contest. Arizona has a lot of frontcourt depth, so the Blue Devils would certainly love to have Brown as another body to throw at them.
Kanon Catchings, F, BYU
Status: Expected to be Available - Knee
Catchings missed the tail end of the regular season and the Big 12 Tournament with a knee injury. He was able to play four minutes in the Round of 64 win over VCU, but did not accumulate any counting stats. Catchings did not see the floor in the Round of 32 game against Wisconsin, however. This was likely just a coaches' decision by Kevin Young. Catchings' playing time and numbers have declined over the course of the season as he hits a bit of a freshman wall. He started the first 15 games of the season and averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 three-pointers in 23.8 minutes per contest. Catchings has come off the bench in the last 15 games he's played in and averaged just 4.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 three-pointers in 11.7 minutes per contest. The 6-9 forward is expected to be an option for coach Young, but whether or not he decides to use the freshman in Thursday's game against Alabama remains to be seen.
Grant Nelson, F, Alabama
Status: Will Play - Knee
Coach Nate Oats did not want to have to use Nelson in the Round of 64 matchup against Robert Morris, but the Crimson Tide were on the ropes from the Colonials, who took the lead with under 10 minutes remaining. Nelson was able to come in during the second half and play seven minutes, collecting five points and three rebounds to help Alabama avoid the upset. The 6-foot-11, fifth-year senior then got the green light to start the Round of 32 game against Saint Mary's and had a productive outing, going for 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. Nelson shouldn't face any restrictions for Thursday's game against a red-hot BYU team.
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South Region Key Injuries:
Chris Moore, F, Auburn
Status: Questionable - Ankle
Moore went down with an ankle injury in the Round of 64 game against Alabama State. He was seen riding the bike on the sideline, but ultimately was never able to return to the game and then did not play in the Round of 32 game against Creighton. As of this writing, Moore's status is unclear for Auburn's Sweet Sixteen matchup against Michigan. He has been five-year hustle player for coach Bruce Pearl that's never afraid to do the dirty work when his name is called. Auburn would certainly love to have another option to battle on the boards against a Michigan team led by a pair of 7-footers.
Sam Walters, F, Michigan
Status: Doubtful - Back
Walters hasn't played since Feb. 8 due to a back injury. He was a nice piece to have off the bench for coach Dusty May, as a 6-10 big man with an excellent shooting stroke from the perimeter. Walters was also a part of Alabama's run to the Final Four last year, so he's got experience in this type of situation even as a young player. That said, Walters didn't even travel with the team to Denver for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, so it does seem unlikely that the Wolverines would have him for the Sweet Sixteen matchup against a very deep Auburn team.
West Region Key Injuries:
Sam Alexis, F, Florida
Status: Questionable - Ankle
Alexis hasn't played since Feb. 11 due to an ankle injury. He was seen prior to Florida's opening game of the NCAA Tournament doing post drills in practice and did warm up with the team before each of the last two games. Alexis' first game missed does line up with Micah Handlogten's return from a devastating leg injury in the 2024 SEC Tournament, so perhaps there is something there. With Handlogten, Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu as frontcourt options, the case can probably be made the Gators don't really need Alexis at this point in the season. The 6-8 Chattanooga transfer averaged 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 12.3 minutes over the first 23 games of the year.
Chance McMillian, G, Texas Tech
Status: Questionable - Upper Body
McMillian was initially reported last week as expected to play in the Round of 64 matchup with UNC-Wilmington. It came down to a game-time decision, but coach Grant McCasland decided that his best perimeter scorer wasn't quite ready. McMillian was also held out of the Round of 32 game against Drake with that upper body injury. Fortunately, Texas Tech has a lot of other options to go to offensively, and the Red Raiders were able to advance to the second weekend, buying McMillian some extra time to heal before Thursday's game against Arkansas. The Red Raiders got great contributions from Kerwin Walton, who knocked down eight three-pointers in the first-round game, and a combined 53 points from JT Toppin and Darrion Williams in the second-round win. That said, Arkansas is an extremely talented team on the rise, and coach McCasland will want to have a guy like McMillian, who is averaging 14.2 ppg and shooting over 43 percent from deep, available to play.
Eemeli Yalaho, F, Texas Tech
Status: Doubtful - Upper Body
Yalaho has struggled with a couple different injuries this year, but the most recent of which has been and upper body injury that has kept him sidelined since Feb. 1. Altogether the 6-8 sophomore has only played in eight games this year. In those contests he averaged 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.3 minutes. It seems unlikely he would return in the NCAA Tournament at all, but Yalaho would be a coveted piece to have for coach McCasland in a potential Elite Eight matchup with Florida, who has just a wealth of interior size. JT Toppin and Federiko Federiko are the only players in the rotation who are over 6-6.
Adou Thiero, F, Arkansas
Status: Questionable - Knee
The caveat with Arkansas coming into the tournament was if they could get through the first weekend, look out. They got Boogie Fland back for the opening weekend, and he played right around the 20 minutes coach John Calipari was wanting to limit him to in each of those contests. Fland was a arguably the team's best player through the first half of the season, and now he should be able to be unleashed from here on out. That brings us to the other part of the "arguably best player" discussion with Thiero, who is averaging 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game this season. The athletic 6-8 forward has been out since Feb. 22 with a knee injury, but is getting tantalizingly close to a return to the court. He has been able to practice with the team over the last week. At this point we have to consider him questionable, but even if the Razorbacks could get 15-20 minutes out of Thiero off the bench that would be huge against an extremely talented Texas Tech team. Trevon Brazile has done a great job replacing some of his production, but Thiero is 100 percent the guy they'd like to have match up against Darrion Williams at that power forward position.
Midwest Region Key Injuries:
None: The Midwest Region is as healthy as can be among the main rotation players for Friday's and Sunday's games in Indianapolis apart from Jaxson Robinson's season-ending wrist injury, but that was reported back on March 1. Both J'Wan Roberts and Lamont Butler were the key injuries to watch in this region going into last weekend, but both put in great performances in the Round of 32 after possibly being slightly limited against inferior competition in the Round of 64. Roberts put up 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 32 minutes in the win over Gonzaga, while Butler went for 14 points, five assists and three steals against Illinois. Expect both to play as many minutes as necessary on Friday against Purdue and Tennessee, respectively.
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