CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Isaiah Evans bit on a shot fake by Clemson’s Butta Johnson and launched high into the air with five minutes remaining in the first half of Duke’s ACC Tournament semifinal game against the Tigers on Friday. As he returned to the floor, the Duke shooting guard crashed into Johnson and both fell hard onto the Spectrum Center court.
The collision caused everyone on the Blue Devils bench to leap up with worried looks on their faces. Their concern was understandable. Just one year ago on this same court, they lost star Cooper Flagg for the rest of the tournament with ankle injury.
This time, their concern was quickly eased when Evans, who saved the nation’s top-ranked team by scoring a career-high 32 points a day earlier in a one-point quarterfinal win against Florida State, got up almost immediately with no hint of discomfort.
But the play and the reaction stressed an important reality as Duke moves into Saturday’s championship showdown with Virginia and beyond. With two starters already sidelined, the last thing the Blue Devils need right now is another injury to another key player.
So far, they’ve been able to carry on without point guard Caleb Evans, who will be out for several weeks with a fractured foot, and big man Patrick Ngongba, who is expected back for the NCAA Tournament with a less serious foot issue. After beating Clemson 73-61, they’re one win away from their conference-record 24th tournament title and third in coach Jon Scheyer’s four seasons since succeeding his mentor Mike Krzyzewski.
“I mean it’s March, so it’s not really time for any excuses,” Evans said. “We’ve just got to figure out how to execute Duke basketball offensively and defensively.”
There have been times over the past two nights that the Blue Devils have done just that. They looked absolutely dominant during a 19-2 spurt midway through the second half against Florida State on Thursday. And they were even better for the final 7:44 of a first half in which they broke the game open by holding Clemson without a field goal while outscoring the Tigers 22-4.
But because of a depleted seven-man rotation, some unusual lineup combinations and the prospect of playing three games in as many nights, it’s been tough for Duke to keep the hammer down as consistently as has in in winning 31 of 33 games so far this season. It’s a process that’s continuing to evolve as the Blue Devils advance deeper into the postseason.
“Different styles, different types of teams, but at the end of the day, I think what also helped us from day one to day two is even for me just helping our guys with rotations and what we’re doing,” Scheyer said. “I thought we were in a much better flow (against Clemson) and I didn’t feel that’s something I did a great job of (Thursday). I thought that helped us, just the experience of working through the rotation.”
Duke Guard Caleb Foster Out for Foreseeable Future With Fractured Foot
The junior sustained the injury during Saturday’s game against North Carolina and is out for the foreseeable future
One thing that has helped Duke weather the storm so far is the ability of its players to fill multiple roles. While freshman Cayden Boozer, has taken over for Caleb Foster as the team’s primary ballhandler, others – including his 6-foot-10 brother Cameron – have also assumed some of the responsibility. And while the 7-foot Ngongba’s size can’t be replicated inside, the tag-team of ACC Defensive Player of the Year Maliq Brown and freshman forward Dame Sarr and freshman reserve Nik Khamenia have combined to fill in admirably.
“We’re a big, physical team even with Pat being out,” Cameron Boozer said. “I think we’ve just got to keep crashing going forward. I think that can really change the game for us.”
Even without their starting center, the Blue Devils have outrebound their first two tournament opponents by an 87-52 margin, including 41-27 against Clemson.
“I think about Cam’s versatility, you think about Nik’s versatility, Dame’s versatility, even Isaiah at his size,” Scheyer said. “It allows us just to cover really for foul trouble in different spots.”
Duke has flirted with foul trouble against both Florida State and Clemson, with Cayden Boozer picking up two quick whistles against Florida State and Brown spending long stretches on the bench in both games. It’s a situation, along with fatigue, that could become an even greater problem in Saturday’s final against a Virginia team that goes nine deep and prefers a much faster tempo under first-year coach Ryan Odom than it did under Tony Bennett.
The good news for the Blue Devils is that win or lose, they will still be a No. 1 seed once the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed on Sunday. They should also be closer to full strength. Although they’ll probably have to make it to the Final Four for Foster to return, Scheyer said that Ngongba is on schedule to be back on the floor for Duke’s NCAA opener next week.
“Pat is working his butt off every day,” Scheyer said on Friday. “He took another really good step with our medical team today, so he’s trending in a great direction from where he’s going, which is exciting. For me, very exciting.”
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