Maliq Brown sat out the Duke basketball squad’s 72-46 home victory over the Incarnate Word Cardinals last Tuesday night. At the time, although third-year Blue Devil head coach Jon Scheyer told the media following the game that there was no timetable for his return to action, the fact that the 6-foot-9, 222-pound junior forward wasn’t wearing a boot sure seemed like an encouraging sign.
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Evidently, it was.
Roughly two hours ahead of tipoff between the No. 5-ranked Duke Blue Devils (8-2, 1-0 ACC) and the visiting George Mason Patriots (7-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10) in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ACC Network), Duke basketball confirmed that Brown is officially “IN” for the contest.
INJURY REPORT vs. GEORGE MASON
IN- Maliq Brown
OUT – Cam Sheffield (illness), Spencer Hubbard (🦷)
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) December 17, 2024
Brown, who transferred to Duke following two years at Syracuse and has lived up to expectations that came with his ACC All-Defensive Team selection last season by averaging a team-high 2.1 steals through nine appearances as a Blue Devil, sustained the toe setback during the second half of the squad’s 76-65 road win over the Louisville Cardinals in their ACC opener back on Dec. 8.
While Brown is a go, two reserves toward the end of the Duke basketball bench are now out of commission versus the Patriots.
Graduate guard and mop-up-duty crowd favorite Spencer Hubbard is sidelined with some tooth-related matter. And graduate guard/forward Cameron Sheffield is out with an illness.
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