Will Mark Mitchell play vs. Arizona? What we know on Duke basketball starter

Duke basketball’s Mark Mitchell didn’t play in the Blue Devils’ 92-54 win against Dartmouth on Monday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

An hour before No. 2 Duke played its first game of the 2023-24 college basketball season, the Blue Devils announced in a social media post Mitchell would be sidelined and “day-to-day” with a lower-body injury.

Following Monday’s win, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Mitchell sprained his ankle and “couldn’t play right before the game.”

Mitchell, a sophomore, is one of four starters back from last season. He helped the Blue Devils win 27 games and the 2023 ACC Tournament, but was out with a knee injury in Duke’s season-ending loss to Tennessee in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

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The 6-foot-9, 232-pound forward started 35 of 36 games and averaged 9.1 points to go with 4.5 rebounds as a freshman. Duke was 15-1 when Mitchell reached double-digit points.

In Duke’s 109-64 exhibition win against UNC Pembroke on Nov. 1, Mitchell had 11 points, three assists and two rebounds in 19 minutes.

What Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer said about Mark Mitchell’s injury

Even without Mitchell, Duke cruised against Dartmouth. But the schedule is about to get a lot tougher.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with him,” Scheyer said Monday. Scheyer doesn’t expect the injury to be a persistent problem, but questions remain.

“I’m not too concerned,” he said. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, either. I think it’s important (Tuesday) to see how he’s doing and then Wednesday. My hope is he plays Friday, but it’s too soon to tell. I do not think there’s some long-term thing.”

The Blue Devils host No. 12 Arizona on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN2) before facing No. 4 Michigan State on Nov. 14 (7 p.m., ESPN) in Chicago as part of the Champions Classic.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Will Mark Mitchell play vs. Arizona? Injury update for Duke basketball