Patrick Ngongba injury update: Jon Scheyer 'hopeful' Duke star will play vs. TCU

Duke starting center Patrick Ngongba could potentially return for the Blue Devils’ Round of 32 game against TCU on Saturday. Ahead of the team’s practice on Friday, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer revealed that Ngongba will return to the lineup ‘if everything goes well.’

“We’re about to practice, and I’m hopeful that he’s going to be available for tomorrow,” Scheyer said. “We’ll see what he can do in practice today and if all goes well, I know he was itching to play yesterday. He hasn’t done what he’s needed to do to be able to play, but if everything goes well, we’ll see him back in there.”

Pat Ngongba will practice today. Scheyer is hopeful he can play. 👀

He was itching to play yesterday. pic.twitter.com/H7Toh4W1KW

— Zion O. (@DukeNBA) March 20, 2026

Ngongba, who has been dealing with a right foot injury, has not played since Duke‘s 93-64 victory over NC State on March 2. He missed the Blue Devils’ regular season finale against North Carolina, the entire ACC Tournament, and Duke‘s First Round matchup against No. 16 seed Siena on Thursday. Duke received a scare in that game, but came out on top 71-65 to set up a Round of 32 matchup against No. 9 seed TCU.

In 30 games this season, Ngongba averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. His return would be massive for the Blue Devils’ National Championship aspirations.

Duke held off potential Siena upset in Round of 64

For a while, it appeared as if Duke potentially wouldn’t even make it to the Round of 32. The Blue Devils trailed Siena 43-32 at halftime of their First Round matchup, marking the first time in NCAA Tournament history that a No. 1 seed has trailed a No. 16 seed by double-digits at halftime. It was also just the 13th time that a No. 16 seed has led a No. 1 seed at halftime.

“First game, I feel like a lot of us were nervous,” Duke forward Maliq Brown said at halftime. “We got punched first, so we’ve just got to respond back going into the second half. We weren’t playing our basketball… we thought it was going to be a cakewalk going into this game. So, now we know what it is and we’ve got to respond the way we usually do.”

It took a while, but Jon Scheyer’s team finally regained a lead with just 4:25 remaining in regulation. The Blue Devils used timely free throws and a massive Cayden Boozer layup to hold off the potential upset, cementing the matchup against the Horned Frogs.

No. 1 Duke and No. 9 TCU will collide, with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line, on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS.