Patrick Ngongba II’s return to the court for Duke appears to be delayed until at least the second weekend of the NCAA tournament if the Blue Devils make it to the Sweet 16.
Ngongba, who has been out with what Duke has said is a sore right foot since the end of the regular season, was seen entering Bon Secours Wellness Arena with a boot on his right foot ahead of No. 1 Duke’s second-round game against No. 9 TCU on Saturday.
Your No. 1 Duke Blue Devils have arrived on the scene for the Round of 32. Ngongba last through the door, wearing his boot and still using the knee walker…gotta wait until end of this long video I took to see him.😈🏀📹⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0dYZ2AcaO5
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) March 21, 2026
Ngongba is Duke’s third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder with 10.7 points per game and six rebounds per contest. He also shoots over 60% from the floor. However, he missed the entirety of the ACC tournament and also sat out Duke’s regular season finale against North Carolina with the foot injury.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Friday that he was “hopeful” that Ngongba would be available for Saturday’s game and that the sophomore was “itching” to play in Thursday’s first-round scare against Siena.
“Now, he hasn’t done what he needs to do in order to play, but if everything goes well, we’ll see him back in there,” Scheyer said Friday.
The Blue Devils missed Ngongba’s presence in the paint in that win over Siena. Duke pulled away late for a 71-65 win over the Saints after Siena led by 11 points at halftime. It was the largest halftime lead for a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament history.
However, Siena tired down the stretch as coach Gerry McNamara didn’t make his first substitution until there were 10 seconds remaining in the game. The Saints’ shooting slumped in the second half as Duke chipped away at the lead before pushing ahead.
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