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Zion cleared to return for Duke's ACC tourney opener vs. Syracuse

Lance King / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Superstar Duke freshman Zion Williamson has been cleared to return for the Blue Devils' ACC Tournament-opening game against Syracuse in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday.

Williamson has been sidelined for just over three weeks due to a Grade 1 knee sprain suffered against in-state rival North Carolina on Feb. 20. Prior to that outing, the recently-anointed Naismith Trophy semifinalist had averaged 22.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks through 25 games.

Including a loss on Feb. 20, Duke finished their conference schedule on a 3-3 slide, dropping their overall record to 26-5 this season.

Duke leads the conference with 20 ACC Tournament championships, but boast just one title (2017) in their past seven seasons. If the team can survive Syracuse, it will face the winner of North Carolina versus Louisville on Friday.

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