Duke center Patrick Ngongba is expected to play when the Blue Devils face St. John’s in the Sweet 16 on Friday night at Capital One Arena, head coach Jon Scheyer confirmed on Thursday.
Ngongba, a 6-foot-11 sophomore, missed five games with right foot soreness, including the ACC Tournament and Duke’s NCAA Tournament opener against Siena. He returned in the Round of 32 win over TCU, logging 13 minutes. Scheyer said Thursday that the second-year center responded well to that playing time and will be available against the Red Storm.
What Patrick Ngongba’s Return Means for Duke’s Frontcourt
“Duke coach Jon Scheyer says that center Patrick Ngongba, who missed five games with lingering foot soreness before returning against TCU in the round of 32, responded well to playing time and will be good to go tomorrow vs. St. John’s,” The Athletic’s Brendan Marks reported Thursday.
Ngongba was still listed as questionable on the NCAA’s official initial availability report released Thursday night, which gets updated with a final injury report two hours before tipoff. Despite that designation, Scheyer’s comments strongly signal that Ngongba will take the floor. The final determination will come after he is evaluated on game day.
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His importance to Duke’s frontcourt goes beyond size. At 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, Ngongba is the Blue Devils’ primary rim protector. When he went down on March 2 against NC State, Duke lost a piece of its interior defense at a critical moment in the season. His absence reshaped the team’s interior defense overnight.
Ngongba arrived in Durham as a five-star recruit and the third-best center in the class of 2024. His physical tools give Duke a different defensive look at the rim than any other player on the roster can provide.
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Ngongba is one of two Duke starters carrying injury designations into Friday. Guard Caleb Foster, who fractured his right foot on March 7 against North Carolina and had surgery the following day, is also listed as questionable and remains a true game-time decision. Scheyer said Foster practiced Wednesday and would be in uniform but that his availability depends on how he feels on game day.
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Freshman guard Cayden Boozer stepped in at point guard during Foster’s absence, averaging 13.8 points over five games in that role. Boozer set a career high with 19 points in Duke’s tournament opener against Siena.
Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 tournament, tips off against No. 5 seed St. John’s at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. Getting Ngongba back at anywhere near full strength gives the Blue Devils a frontcourt advantage that could prove decisive against a Red Storm team that beat Kansas on a buzzer-beater in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet 16.
