Duke basketball was surprisingly challenged by Siena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. While they successfully avoided an upset by earning a 71-65 victory, Duke clearly did not play its best basketball. The No. 1 Blue Devils will have a more intimidating challenge on Saturday when they go head-to-head with TCU. The good news is that Duke could receive a crucial reinforcement for the game.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer provided a promising injury update on big man Patrick Ngongba early on Friday. The head coach is hoping that Ngongba will be available for the matchup. On Friday night, Ngongba's official injury status was revealed. According to Jeff Borzello of ESPN, Ngongba is listed as questionable to play against TCU on Saturday.
Patrick Ngongba Questionable for Duke-TCU Game
Ngongba has missed almost three weeks due to a foot injury. Duke missed his presence on Thursday against Siena. Still, the Blue Devils had enough talent to get the win. The game was far more competitive than anyone expected, however.
It is March, though. Anything can happen in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are certainly fortunate to have avoided what would have been a shocking upset. Although they did not play their best brand of basketball, Duke still appears to be poised to make a championship run. That will be especially true if Ngongba returns soon and plays at a high level.
Ngongba, a center, appeared in 29 games in his second season with the Duke basketball program. He started 28 of those contests. Ngongba emerged as one of the better centers in all of college basketball, as he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 blocks per outing during the season. Ngongba only averaged one three-point attempt per game, but he shot 60.2 percent from the field on 6.2 field goal attempts per outing.
The center also gave Duke 22.4 minutes per contest in the games that he played. In other words, Ngongba was one of the most important Blue Devils on the floor throughout the 2025-26 season.
Fans will want to closely monitor his status for Saturday's game. The fact that he is now listed as questionable is encouraging, but he is not guaranteed to play as of this story's writing.
As for the game itself, Duke and TCU will go head-to-head in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 5:15 PM EST on Saturday.
