Top-ranked Duke is at the point where it must balance the desire to win a 24th ACC tournament title with the need to be at its strongest, and healthiest, when the NCAA Tournament tips off.
Neither Patrick Ngongba II nor Caleb Foster, Duke’s third- and fourth-leading scorers, respectively, will be available this week as the Blue Devils begin their conference tournament stint Thursday night against eighth-seeded Florida State(18-14) in the quarterfinals in Charlotte.
Duke (29-2) is the ACC’s top seed for the second straight year. It overcame Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Louisville by eight, three and 11 points in last year’s run to the conference title, a prelude to the Blue Devils’ trip to the Final Four.
Both Foster and Ngongba played roles for that team off the bench and have moved into the starting lineup on this year’s squad, which is powered by national Player of the Year front-runner Cameron Boozer.
Foster, who averages 8.5 points per game and shoots 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 “the reality of it” is that Foster won’t be ready until the week of the Final Four, should the team advance that far again.
But on Tuesday, Scheyer confirmed that Ngongba also is out while managing a foot injury. The starting center averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks during the regular season.
“His thing is not at all like Caleb’s,” Scheyer said. “Our mindset is to get him ready for the NCAA Tournament. That’s the priority. That’s our focus. We’re going to get him right where he’s ready to join us when we go for the real thing here in the NCAA Tournament. But we’re not going to play him. He’s going to be out this week, get him some rest, get him recovered and then join us back.”
Duke, which has won eight straight games, will lean even more on Boozer, who averaged 22.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists and had a dominant game in the 76-61 win over rival North Carolina on Saturday. He scored 26 points (10-for-17 shooting from the floor), grabbed 15 rebounds and had five assists.
Boozer went for 17 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals when Duke edged Florida State 91-87 on the road Jan. 3. Isaiah Evans tallied a career-high 28 points that night, making six triples.
But Florida State continued its second-half renaissance Wednesday when it beat Cal 95-89 in the ACC’s 8-9 game, a contest the Seminoles led by as many as 22 points. Robert McCray V had a season-high 30 points and eight assists.
Florida State, which has won four games in a row, improved to 11-3 since its 0-5 start to conference play. First-year coach Luke Loucks said he wants none of the credit.
“I truly think we’re going to look back on this staff, like holy smokes, there is six head 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, the character they have, again, to not splinter in the toughest moments. To me your character always comes out in the hardest of times, and when you’re 7-11 and you’ve lost five in a row, most teams let go of the rope. And these guys did not let go of the rope. Not one day I can’t remember where they didn’t show up and at least try to give everything they have.”
McCray, Florida State’s top scorer and playmaker, improved his season averages to 16.1 ppg and 6.1 apg.
