Despite injuries, Duke advances. Coach Jon Scheyer reveals positive news on a key starter's return ahead of the Virginia clash.
Despite being shorthanded, No. 1 Duke advanced to the final round of the ACC Tournament with a 73-61 win over Clemson on Friday night in front of 17,711 fans at Spectrum Center.
Star freshman Cameron Boozer led the Blue Devils with 24 points and 14 rebounds to go along with five assists and a block. Cayden Boozer had a strong performance with 16 points, three rebounds and one assist.
Starting point guard Caleb Foster suffered a broken right foot that will keep him out of the ACC Tournament and the start of the NCAA Tournament next week. The Blue Devils hope he can return if the team makes it to the Final Four.
Center Patrick Ngongba II suffered a foot injury in the win over North Carolina on March 7 and is not expected to return until the NCAA Tournament.
During his postgame news conference, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer provided an update on Ngongba, saying he's trending in a positive direction. In the meantime, Duke is dealing with new spacing.
"You know, our spacing is different when we have that lineup. I think that's something we haven't done as much, but it's also worked really well," Scheyer said, via 247Sports. "The floor is more open...
"As far as Pat goes, Pat is working his butt off every day. He took another really good step with our medical team today, so he's trending in a great direction from where he's going, which is exciting. For me, very exciting."
Without Ngongba and Foster, the Blue Devils are playing with a seven-man rotation. There is an obvious concern about Duke playing three nights in a row without much bench help.
Scheyer isn't willing to give his team any excuses before playing Virginia on Saturday night.
"Are you asking me if the 1 seed did not -- I'm just kidding," he said. "No excuses from us. That's part of the strength of their team is their depth. I think the way we can sub and with our rotations, we'll be fresh ready to go.
"It's a blessing to be playing for a championship. So fatigue is not going to be a factor in this. It's a blessing. We're grateful to be in this position where it's hard to sleep, you're not going to get much sleep tonight."
Duke has a recovery plan to get their lineup ready for the Cavaliers. But the Blue Devils are hopeful they'll have one player return for the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, when they'll play two games in three days.