Caleb Foster's fractured foot still sidelines Duke, but head coach Jon Scheyer offers hope for a potential NCAA Tournament return as Ngongba rejoins the action.
After missing the entire ACC Tournament and No. 1 seed Duke's first-round win over No. 16 Siena on Thursday, center Patrick Ngongba II made his return to the floor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Ngongba had been battling through a foot injury and came off the bench against TCU.
In 13 minutes, he scored four points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in Duke's 81-58 win over TCU at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
During his postgame news conference, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said it wasn't easy for the team to put Ngongba back into the lineup. The center had wanted to return to play the Saints on Thursday.
"For Pat to come back to this game, was not easy by any means. He was fighting like crazy," Scheyer said, via USA Today.
"He even came up to us before the first game, and just in the best interest of him, and ultimately our team also -- well, we always want him back out here, but we tried to get him ready for this game. That was pushing to begin with."
Duke was still without point guard Caleb Foster, battling a fractured right foot. Scheyer suggested Foster could return at some point in the NCAA Tournament if the Blue Devils continue to advance.
"Again, we're more whole with Pat being back, obviously Caleb's working every day like crazy," Scheyer said.
Foster is averaging 25.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season. Without him, Duke has been relying on Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer to run the floor on offense.
Cayden finished Saturday night's contest with nine points, four rebounds and five assists on 36 minutes. Cameron led Duke with 19 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists.
Ngongba's absence loomed large for Duke in the ACC Tournament and early in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils need their center to guard the paint.
Duke will have a few days off before the team next plays in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
That should give Ngongba extra time to recover, and it would be a good thing for the Blue Devils if he's available to start given the way the first two games of the tournament began.