GREENVILLE, S.C. – Duke again will be shorthanded as it begins what it hopes will be a long NCAA Tournament run. How long the Blue Devils stay that way remains uncertain.
Coach Jon Scheyer was hoping to get one of his two injured starters back for Thursday’s first-round matchup against 16th-seeded Siena. But while sophomore big man Patrick Ngongba has been “progressing,” in the assessment of his coach, he’s still not ready to get back on the court.
“I can tell you that in a perfect world, I think he’d be playing tomorrow,” Scheyer said Wednesday. “But it’s nothing other than he’s not quite ready to go.”
That was obvious as the 6-foot-11 Ngongba rolled through Duke’s locker room at Bon Secours Wellness Center on a scooter with a boot on his right foot. He remained in the locker room getting treatment while his teammates held their open practice on the floor.
Ngongba has been sidelined since the Blue Devils’ regular-season finale against North Carolina. His injury isn’t believed to be as serious as the foot injury that will keep starting point guard Caleb Foster out at least until the Final Four.
If top-seeded Duke makes it that far.
The Blue Devils aren’t expected to have much trouble getting past Siena, even without Ngongba and Foster. They overcame their shortened rotation to win their third ACC Tournament championship in four seasons under Scheyer last week, beating a deeper, bigger Virginia team in the final.
But the lack of size and inside depth could become an issue in a potential second-round matchup against either No. 8 Ohio State or No. 9 TCU on Saturday.
“He does a lot for us, offense, defense,” teammate Maliq Brown said of Ngongba. “We definitely miss them a lot on the court. Pat is a very good rim protector. His scoring, passing, awareness of being on the court — he can do just about everything for us. It’s just something we all have to double-up on.”
Brown, the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, has moved into the starting line in Ngongba’s absence. But because of foul trouble in all three ACC Tournament games, others have had to help fill the void.
It’s a group that includes 6-foot-8 freshman forwards Dame Sarr and Nikolas Khamenia, as well as 6-foot-9 ACC Player and Rookie of the Year Cameron Boozer.
Assuming Ngongba returns, the adjustments made in his absence could turn into a positive moving forward.
“At the end of the day, Cam just has to slide over to play some more in that spot, where he hasn’t done that as much this year,” Scheyer said. “I think we found some really good lineups that can be really tough to guard when we do that.”
DUKE LATEST
NCAA Tournament 2026 East Region Preview: Duke Highlights Group of Blue Bloods
The East region features iconic programs — Duke, UConn, Kansas, St. John’s, UCLA — and legendary coaches who total 21 Final Four appearances
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
Duke Keeps on Winning as It Adjusts to an Injury-Depleted Lineup
With three key pieces down for the count, Duke keeps finding new ways to win. Credit a versatile roster and a renaissance for Cayden Boozer.
“I’m still pretty much doing the same things I was doing before, just maybe playing more minutes at different positions,” said Khamenia, who averaged 31 minutes, 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in three ACC Tournament games, significant increases from his season averages of 19.6 minutes, 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds. “(Playing multiple roles) is something I’ve done for most of my life, so I’m comfortable doing that.”
If there’s a positive aspect to the absence of Ngongba and Foster, it’s that Scheyer and his staff have experience dealing with such situations. This is the third consecutive season in which Duke has had to deal with an injury in the NCAA Tournament. Foster also missed the 2024 postseason with a stress fracture, and Brown was in and out of the lineup last season with a shoulder injury.
That said, Scheyer acknowledges that his team is going to need its starting big man to have a serious shot at returning to the Final Four and accomplishing the national championship goal that eluded last season’s team.
While he stopped short of saying Ngongba will be in uniform Saturday, he’s clearly optimistic about the possibility.
“He’s itching to play, but we’re not quite there just yet,” Scheyer said. “It’s not anything where you can say, ‘Two weeks and you’re back; 12 days and you’re back.’ You have to take it step-by-step with what he’s doing. Everything is going in a good direction.
“I think the comfort that we want him to feel is not quite there, so that’s something we can only know day to day.”
Meet your guide
