The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils have been one of the top teams in college basketball all season long. But the Blue Devils enter the postseason shorthanded as they look to win three major titles for the first time since 2010.
Duke (29-2), the favorites to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament, won’t have two starters when they take the floor in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, head coach Jon Scheyer announced earlier today. The Blue Devils, who have won eight straight games, didn’t have starting center Patrick Ngongba II in their 79-61 victory over arch-rivals North Carolina Tar Heels due to foot soreness. They then lost starting point guard Caleb Foster to a fractured foot in the first half of the Tar Heel game.
“Caleb Foster suffered a fracture in his right foot and is out for the foreseeable future. He had surgery Sunday morning,” Scheyer revealed during a press conference earlier today via the Duke basketball X account. “Pat Ngongba II is out for the ACC Tournament with foot soreness. Hopeful for an NCAA Tournament return.”
Duke Blue Devils Severely Shorthanded As They Go For First Title Sweep Since 2010
While Scheyer said he remains hopeful Ngongba will be able to play at some point during the NCAA tournament, Foster’s junior season appears to be over. In general, a basketball player who requires foot surgery is out at least two months, meaning the earliest he could return is May.
“I think the reality of it is, we’d have to advance to a Final Four,” Scheyer said about Foster playing again this season. “Is there a chance earlier? I’m not going to eliminate that right now. But I think that’s really difficult to try, even to imagine that scenario. We’re not going to have him the next couple of weeks, the next few weeks.”
Duke will play the winner of eighth-seed Florida State and ninth-seed California in the ACC quarterfinals on Thursday. The Blue Devils, the defending ACC tournament champions, own a 39-2 conference record over the last two years. Their losses have come to UNC and Clemson.
Duke is 2-0 against Cal and FSU the last two seasons. The Blue Devils defeated the Seminoles (91-87) in Tallahassee earlier this year and the Golden Bears (71-56) in Berkeley. The Blue Devils have won the ACC tournament title in three of Scheyer’s four seasons in the first seat.
Duke reached the Final Four last season for the second time in four seasons. However, the Blue Devils last won a national title in 2014-15 and haven’t hit the trifecta since 2009-10 — winning the ACC regular season, the ACC tournament, and the national title.
What does losing Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba Mean for the Blue Devils?
Foster came to Duke as a top 20 consensus recruit in 2023, but this was the first season the 6-5 combo guard was a full-time starter. While his numbers don’t jump off the page, Foster was having a nice bounce-back campaign after a disappointing sophomore season. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 26 minutes a game. Additionally, he averaged 1.3 threes with shooting splits of 44.2/40.2/58.5.
Moreover, Foster was playing the best basketball of the season over the last 10 games. While Foster’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, he is a steady presence who defends (either spot in the backcourt) and keeps the Blue Devils organized in the halfcourt. He also didn’t make many mistakes.
With Foster sidelined, Cayden Boozer will move back into the starting lineup. Boozer, who has started four previous contests, has stepped up his production over the last 10 contests, though he has struggled in his previous starts. With Boozer starting, he is expected to see an increase in usage, though his twin brother, Cameron Boozer, will be the primary creator. Meanwhile, Dame Sarr— who has scored in double-figures in each of the last two games– and Maliq Brown will get more opportunities to create.
Since Boozer will not be the starter, that means sophomore Darren Harris will serve as his backup. Harris, a consensus top-40 recruit in 2024, has been brought along slowly by Scheyer. While he has struggled shooting this season — shooting under 40% from the field — he has seen an uptick in production and minutes lately. Over the last four games, he averaged 7.2 points on 7 of 17 (41.1%) shooting, including 5 of 13 (38.4%) from deep.
How Does Scheyer Replace Ngongba?
Duke is much deeper in the backcourt than upfront, so if Ngongba can’t return this season, then the Blue Devils’ championship aspirations take a huge hit. The good news is that the Blue Devils expect him to return early in the NCAA tournament.
“We’ll cross that bridge next week to really see how he’s feeling and make sure just his soreness is down,” Scheyer said. “But he’s going to play, it’s a matter of when. And our expectation is it’s going to be at the beginning of the tournament.”
Ngongba has seen much growth this season. The 6-11 center is highly efficient around the basket, a superb offensive rebounder, and a physical interior defender with shot-blocking ability. He averages 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while posting shooting splits of 60.2/27.2/69.4. Additionally, he scored in double figures in 20 of his 29 appearances and produced one double-double in 23 minutes.
Ngongba has missed two previous games and came off the bench once, with Brown getting the nod at the five each time. Brown is a long, athletic defensive stopper. While limited offensively, Brown is highly efficient around the rim and an outstanding offensive rebounder. He scored a season-high 15 points against UNC the last time out and had two games of 10 or more rebounds.
Malique Brown and Cam Boozer To Handle Most of the frontcourt minutes
Brown and Cam Boozer will anchor the frontcourt for the Blue Devils until Ngongba returns. Nikolas Khamenia, a 6-7 floor spacer, will be those two players’ primary backup.
“Our team is determined to come right back on Thursday and to pick up where we left off,” Scheyer remarked when asked about changing his coaching style without Ngongba. “Understanding that it’s different without both of those guys [Foster and Ngongba], of course. I mean, those guys are a huge part of what we’ve done.
“But we’re not changing the way we play. You know, we’re not changing how we defend and how we guard. I think part of the beauty of what we’ve done this season, by playing nine guys and [sophomore guard Darren Harris] getting back in that rotation the way that he’s played, all seven [healthy] guys are impactful players. You can have a really good rotation with those guys…
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