The Duke Blue Devils are in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the third straight season despite being shorthanded for the last six games. However, the Blue Devils got good news as they head into their Friday night game against a tough St. John’s Red Storm squad.<\/p>\n
Duke<\/a> (34-2), which got Patrick Ngongba II<\/a> back for their last game, defeated TCU 81-58 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The Blue Devils outscored the Horned Frogs<\/a> 43-24 in the second half, including 34-10 over the last 14 minutes.\u00a0 Cameron Boozer<\/a> posted\u00a0yet another double-double to lead four Blue Devils with 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Horned Frogs. The victory was their 13th straight.<\/p>\n Ngongba, returning to action after missing five games, saw 13 minutes off the bench versus TCU. The 6-11 sophomore center tallied four points, making four off his shots, four rebounds, ds and dished out four assists in his time on the court. He also recorded a block while being charged with four fouls.<\/p>\n Now with Ngongba fully healthy, the Blue Devils could have a full squad tonight against St. John’s (30-6). According to Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer<\/a>, “Caleb Foster<\/a> is going to try and play tomorrow night<\/a>.” <\/span><\/p>\n Foster hasn’t played since breaking his foot on March 7 in the ACC<\/a> regular season final against UNC. If the 6-5 junior guard does indeed play, it will be a surprise, as he wasn’t expected to return unless the Blue Devils made it to the Final Four next weekend\u2014and perhaps wishful thinking, as he is officially listed as a game-time decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9 Geoff Burke, Imagn Images<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Despite a six-to-eight week prognosis to return from a broken foot, Foster is in a position to play because he has worked extremely hard, Scheyer said. Texas guard Jordan Pope<\/a> played through a broken foot<\/a> in the Longhorns 79-77 loss to Purdue.<\/p>\n “Not to reference ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ but when he first got hurt, I felt like maybe it was one in a million,”\u00a0<\/span>Scheyer told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein on Monday. “Since then, the way Caleb has worked, the chances have continued to increase. I think there’s an outside chance, maybe for Friday.<\/p>\n “He’s trying to do the impossible here and try to come back as soon as he can,” Scheyer added<\/a>. “This weekend, I don’t think I can rule it out because of who he is and how he’s been working.”<\/p>\n Foster<\/a>, who has practiced this week, was having the best season of his collegiate career and was the Blue Devils’ starting point guard before getting injured.\u00a0 Foster averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. He also knocked down 1.3 threes with shooting splits of 44.2\/40.2\/58.5. Additionally, he scored in double figures in 10 of his 31 contests<\/p>\n Duke is 5-0 without Foster, but the Blue Devils have had a couple of close calls. Their scoring is slightly down, and they haven’t been as good defensively without him. They average 76 points and allow 67 points a contest over the last five contests.<\/p>\n “As long as <\/span>#duke<\/span> PG Caleb Foster didn\u2019t have any setback overnight, the expectation is he will play tonight against St.John’s, ” CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson<\/a> tweeted earlier this afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Foster is the one who organizes the Blue Devils’ offense and defense. Offensively, Foster brings stability, as he is a solid ball-handler, and leadership\/ Not known as a shooter, Foster has improved in that area this year and knocks down over 40% of his three-point attempts for his career.<\/p>\n Defense is where Foster makes his money. He is the quarterback on that end and excels at the point of attack.<\/p>\n If Foster does return tonight, he will likely come off the bench due to his minutes restriction. His return would allow Scheyer to take a little pressure off of freshman Cayden Boozer.<\/a> St. John’s is outstanding defensively, No. 19 in the country in defensive rating, and Dylan Darling<\/a> is a tenacious on-ball defender.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think the biggest thing is just how physical they are,\u201d Boozer said about the Red Storm’s defense earlier today via Heavy.com.<\/a> \u201cThey pressure you full court, and on the offensive side, they play really fast and try to get as many offensive rebounds as they can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Still, Boozer projects to start his sixth straight game, and he has been very good over this stretch. While not the 3-point shooter that Foster is, Boozer is a better scorer and distributor, and he is solid defensively.<\/p>\n Boozer has produced 13.4 points, 3.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds while making 48.2% from the field over the five games that Foster has been sidelined. He has totaled at least 16 points on three occassions during this stretch, including a season-high 19 versus Siena in the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament<\/a> opener.<\/p>\nCaleb Foster Has Worked Hard To Return<\/h3>\n
What Does Foster Bring To The Blue Devils?<\/h3>\n
St. John’s Is Going To Be A Tough Matchup<\/h3>\n