Early in Duke’s ACC tournament quarterfinal game against Georgia Tech, the college basketball world briefly came to a standstill.

Star freshman and National Player of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg left the game with an apparent ankle injury, rolling his left ankle after coming down with a rebound.

Flagg immediately went to the locker room, not putting any weight on his left ankle. He was even seen in a wheelchair as he navigated the arena tunnels to be evaluated.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was interviewed on SEC Network at halftime of the SEC tournament second round game between Arkansas and Ole Miss, where he was asked about Flagg’s injury.

Pearl complimented Duke’s depth, citing their ability to win without Flagg, if need be, but called losing him a “huge hit.”

“Cooper Flagg impacts winning on both ends of the floor,” Pearl said on the broadcast.

Pearl got a close look at Flagg earlier in the season when Auburn played Duke on Dec. 4. The Blue Devils won the game 84-78 behind 22 points from the freshman standout.

Auburn star forward Johni Broome — the other frontrunner for National Player of the Year — had a similar injury to Flagg earlier in the season that Pearl brought up on SEC Network.

Broome suffered an ankle sprain in Auburn’s win over South Carolina in January, causing him to miss two games.

“We lost Johni Broome for a couple of weeks,” Pearl said. “My guess is this could be, maybe [Flagg] won’t be available in the first round. Duke’s good enough to be able to advance without him, though.”

Flagg returned to the bench, but never returned against Georgia Tech, a game Duke won 78-70. The Blue Devils’ next game will be against either Wake Forest or North Carolina in the semifinals Friday night, with tipoff set for 6 p.m.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m