Is Patrick Ngongba playing today? Latest injury update on star Duke big man

After an unexpected scare against Siena in their tournament opener Thursday, the Blue Devils have hopefully tightened up some loose screws and will be better equipped for today's game against TCU. The Horned Frogs, a No. 9 seed in the East region, held off Ohio State in the first round. 

Even with the shaky first-round performance, Duke is one of the favorites to win the national championship and are 11.5-point favorites today according to FanDuel. But if the Blue Devils want to really compete for a trophy, they are going to need sophomore big man Patrick Ngongba II to get healthy and back on the floor.

Ngongba is listed as questionable and Jon Scheyer is eager to get him back on the court. The good news is that 'Big Pat' appears in one of the photos of Friday's practice released by the men's basketball social media account.

Duke fans are hoping Patrick Ngongba can play vs. TCU in the NCAA Tournament

"I'm hopeful he's going to be available," Scheyer said before Friday's practice. "I know he was itching to play [Thursday]. Now he hasn't done what he needs to do in order to play, but if everything goes well [during practice] we'll see him back in there."

Ngongba hasn't played since March 2. He missed the entire ACC tournament. The 6-foot-11, 250-pounder is the Blue Devils' main stopper on defense. Ngongba's ability to protect the rim and add scoring in the paint is something that the Blue Devils were barely able to survive without Thursday and something they will likely need for the rest of the way.

With a 5:15 scheduled tip-off from Greenville, South Carolina, the final update on Ngongba's status probably won't come into the early afternoon. But it appears that Scheyer is very optimistic and if the big man is itching to play, then maybe he showed something more promising in practice than the video released of him still in a walking boot. And the sooner Ngongba returns to the court, the better things will be for the Blue Devils.