GREENVILLE, S.C. — Patrick Ngongba II is back for Duke basketball as the top-seeded Blue Devils battle No. 9 seed TCU for a spot in the Sweet 16 of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Ngongba, who was listed as questionable on the NCAA availability report ahead of the March Madness second-round matchup, missed five straight games with lingering soreness in his right foot. He checked into the game with 16:14 left in the first half and the game tied at 7.
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The 6-foot-11 center is averaging 10.7 points, 6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Prior to the game between Duke (33-2) and TCU (23-11) at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson spoke with Duke coach Jon Scheyer about Ngongba’s status.
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“If he has good warmups, I expect him to be out there and that will be a great thing for our team,” Scheyer told Wolfson.
Ngongba went through warmups with the Blue Devils. Wolfson followed up with a question about a possible minutes restriction for the big man.
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“I think naturally since he hasn’t played as much, there’s not an official limit but I don’t expect him to play his normal minutes today for sure,” Scheyer said.
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to rbaxley@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Pat Ngongba back for Duke vs TCU in March Madness second round
