CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> Cooper Flagg went airborne to snag a rebound in his first ACC Tournament game when Duke’s freshman star landed awkwardly and crashed to the court, holding his left ankle and writhing in pain.

It came moments after defensive whiz Maliq Brown had to be helped to the locker room, his left arm hanging limply by his side.

And just like that, top-ranked Duke now faces serious injury questions that threaten to linger well beyond however long the Blue Devils play this week.

Coach Jon Scheyer said it’s a “real longshot” Flagg — the favorite to be the No. 1 NBA draft pick whenever he goes pro — will be able to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals due to that sprained ankle suffered in Thursday’s 78-70 quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech.

The injuries are concerning enough for a team that had to rally from 14 down to win Thursday, matching its biggest deficit of the season. But there’s another complication: any absence, rehab or recovery comes with March Madness starting next week, a fact Scheyer alluded to in discussing Flagg’s injury.

“It’s not about being ready to go tomorrow,” Scheyer said. “That’s not the most important thing for us. We’ve got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the (NCAA).

Wisconsin 70, Northwestern 63 >> Nolan Winter and John Tonje each scored 18 points to lead No. 18 Wisconsin past Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten tournament at Indianapolis.

The Badgers (24-8), seeded fifth, face No. 4 seed UCLA in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Houston 77, Colorado 68 >> Emanuel Sharpe scored 19 points, and the No. 2 Cougars overcame an injury to veteran forward J’Wan Roberts to beat the Buffaloes to advance to the Big 12 semifinals in Kansas City, Mo.

St. John’s 77, Butler 57 >> RJ Luis Jr. scored 20 points and the No. 6 Red Storm romped to a blowout of the Bulldogs in their Big East quarterfinal at New York.

Texas Tech 76, Baylor 74 >> JT Toppin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lift the No. 9 Red Raiders over the Bears in the Big 12 quarterfinals in Kansas City, Mo.

Brigham Young 96, Iowa State 92 >> Richie Saunders scored 23 points, hitting a crucial 3-pointer with less than a minute to go, and No. 17 BYU overcame a big game from Curtis Jones to knock off No. 12 Iowa State in the Big 12 quarterfinals

Louisville 75, Stanford 73 >> Chucky Hepburn’s putback jumper at the buzzer helped No. 13 Louisville beat the Cardinal and advance to the ACC semifinals.

Illinois 106, Iowa 94 >> Kylan Boswell scored 24 points and four other Illinois players finished in double digits as the 24th-ranked Illini beat 15th-seeded Iowa in a wild second-round Big Ten game.

Texas 94, Texas A&M 88 >> Tre Johnson made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:08 left in the second overtime and the Longhorns beat the No. 14 Aggies to reach the SEC quarterfinals in Nashville, Tenn.

Purdue 76, USC 71 >> Trey Kaufman-Renn had 30 points as the No. 20 Boilermakers topped the Trojans to reach the Big Ten quarterfinals.

Oregon 72, Indiana 59 >> Jackson Shelstad had 18 points and TJ Bamba scored 17 to help the No. 23 Ducks pull away late for a victory over the Hoosiers in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

Marquette 89, Xavier 87 >> Kam Jones scored 28 points and the No. 25 Golden Eagles rallied past the Musketeers in the Big East quarterfinals.

Missouri 85, Mississippi State 73 >> Tamar Bates scored 25 points and the No. 21 Tigers beat the Bulldogs to reach the SEC quarterfinals.