March 7, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Kayden Boozer (2) drives toward the basket while North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Duke Blue Devils won 76-61. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Image Top-ranked Duke is at a point where it must balance its desire to win its 24th ACC Tournament title with the need to remain as strong and healthy as the NCAA Tournament concludes.
Duke’s third and fourth-leading scorers, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster, will be sidelined this week as the Blue Devils open their conference tournament schedule against eighth-seeded Florida State (18-14) in the quarterfinals Thursday night in Charlotte.
Duke (29-2) is the ACC’s No. 1 seed for the second straight year. In last year’s run to the conference title, they beat Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Louisville by eight, three and 11 points, a prelude to the Blue Devils advancing to the Final Four.
Foster and Ngongba both played their part in the team off the bench and worked their way into the starting line-up of this year’s squad, led by Player of the Year award frontrunner Cameron Boozer.
Foster, who averaged 8.5 points per game and shot 40.2% from 3-point range, broke a bone in his right foot in the regular season finale against North Carolina. Duke coach Jon Scheyer said “realistically” Foster won’t be ready by the week of the Final Four if the team gets that far again.
However, on Tuesday, Scheyer confirmed that Ngongba was also sidelined while managing a foot injury. The starting center averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks during the regular season.
“His work is nothing like Caleb’s,” Scheyer said. “Our mentality is to get him ready for the NCAA Tournament. That’s the priority. That’s our focus. We’ll get him right where he’s ready to be with us when we do the real work here in the NCAA Tournament. But we’re not going to play against him. He’s going to go out this week and rest and recover and then rejoin us.”
Duke, which has won eight straight, will lean more on Boozer, who averaged 22.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists and had a dominant performance in last Saturday’s 76-61 win over rival North Carolina. He scored 26 points (10-for-17 shooting), 15 rebounds and 5 assists.
Boozer had 17 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals when Duke defeated Florida State 91-87 on Jan. 3. Isaiah Evans scored a career-high 28 points on the night and hit six triples.
But Florida State continued its second-half renaissance Wednesday, beating Cal 95-89 in an 8-9 ACC game. This game saw the Seminoles lead by as many as 22 points. Robert McCray V had a season-high 30 points and 8 assists.
Florida State, which has won four straight, improved to 11-3 after starting conference play 0-5. First-year coach Luke Loucks said he didn’t want to take the credit.
“I think we’ll look back on this staff like it’s a sacred act. We’ve had six coaches on that staff,” Loucks said of his assistants. “That’s why we’re successful. It has nothing to do with me.
“That and the players, again, character to not break apart in the most difficult moments. For me, your character always shows up in the most difficult moments, and when you’re 7-11 and you’re on a five-game losing streak, most teams don’t let go of the rope. And these guys don’t let go of the rope. I can’t remember a day where they don’t show up and at least try to give it everything they’ve got.”
McCray, Florida State’s leading scorer and playmaker, improved his season averages to 16.1 ppg and 6.1 apg.
–Field level media
