It’s getting to be the most important time of the season and after navigating most of the year without a significant injury the Duke basketball team is hoping for the best with center Patrick Ngongba.
Ngongba missed Tuesday’s victory over Pittsburgh with a wrist injury that he suffered against North Carolina.
After the 70-54-win, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer revealed that his starting center wasn’t close to suiting up for the Blue Devils.
“We were holding on hope on whether he could play today. I think that was incredibly unrealistic,” he explained. “He wasn't close to being ready. Pat's really tough. Pat's dealt with a lot of different – not major things this year, but just where he got hit on his other hand, and he's had stuff that, for him to be out, it's something.”
Scheyer added that it is still too early to tell if he could be ready to play in Duke’s matchup on Saturday afternoon against No. 20 Clemson but told the Blue Devils Sports Network that everything in Ngongba’s wrist is “intact” – insinuating that there are no breaks.
“We have to see how he does the next couple days to see if there's even a chance and go from there. It’s hard to say.”
Maliq Brown filled Pat Ngongba’s spot in the starting lineup against the Panthers and had an up-and-down game, finishing with two points, three rebounds, and two steals. He was benched at the start of the second half, along with Isaiah Evans, as Scheyer looked for a lineup combination that would work.
“We’re a different team without Pat. I mean, we had some lineups out there we've never played before.”
Ngongba is averaging 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds this season and had played in every game until Tuesday night.
The schedule gets much more difficult for Duke entering the ACC Tournament with a non-conference matchup against No. 2 Michigan and its loaded frontcourt on February 21 before finishing the season with No. 15 Virginia, a road game against NC State, and No. 11 North Carolina.