Duke faces NCAA Tournament uncertainty as key players remain sidelined with injuries, raising concerns about depth and playoff readiness.
Despite being without starting point guard Caleb Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II, No. 1 Duke held off No. 10 Virginia to win the ACC Tournament final on Saturday in front of a crowd of 17,781 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Isaiah Evans led the Blue Devils with 20 points, two rebounds and one assist. Cayden Boozer had a big night with 16 points to go along with five rebounds.
Virginia mostly kept star freshman Cameron Boozer in check. Cameron had an off shooting night, going 3-of-17 from the field. He finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
During his postgame news conference, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer provided an injury update on Foster and Ngongba.
Scheyer indicated Foster wouldn't return to the floor quicker than his earlier prediction date of the Final Four while he rehabs from a broken right foot, though the point guard is "progressing well."
Scheyer also cited that Ngongba might not return for the first round of the NCAA Tournament as he battles a foot injury.
"As far as Pat goes, I think he's been doing his therapy, working with the medical team. They're just benchmarks," Scheyer said, via USA Today. "He just has to continue to take it -- it's a day-by-day thing to see how he can handle the next step and whether that soreness goes away.
"I can tell you he's improving. I feel very positive about it, but I can't say what that means as far as later in the week in terms of timing or readiness, because we have to take it step by step."
With Foster and Ngongba out, Duke is running with a seven-man rotation. The Blue Devils struggled with the lineup against Florida State on Thursday, but played much better in their final two ACC Tournament games.
With that being said, it would obviously be better for Duke to have their big man. Ngongba is averaging 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
He also would give the Blue Devils an eighth man, which could be important when fatigue starts to set in during the NCAA Tournament.