While the Duke Blue Devils avoided a first-round upset against Siena in the NCAA Tournament, Jon Scheyer would be worried about how the Saints exposed their defense, especially without their key frontcourt star. However, there is positive news for Duke fans ahead of their second-round matchup against TCU.

Tracy Wolfson reports that while Patrick Ngongba II arrived at the arena on a scooter, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer has labelled it a precautionary measure ahead of the game. Wolfson added that the sophomore forward should feature against TCU.

But Duke fans might not get to see Ngongba in full flow, as the Duke Blue Devils will probably manage his minutes to avoid a recurrence of his injury issues.

Ngongba has not been on the floor for Duke since the North Carolina game late in the regular season and had to sit out the entire ACC Tournament. Jon Scheyer’s men were missing another starter, Caleb Foster. And while Cayden Boozer stepped up to compensate for Foster’s absence, the Duke defense sorely missed Ngongba.

Freshman Francis Folefac took the Duke defense by storm in the first half, knocking down 5 field goals as Duke became the first one-seed in the NCAA Tournament to trail by double digits at halftime to a 16-seed. And while Duke recovered to win 71-65, the six-point margin is too close for a Duke team that was touted to clear the Siena Saints comfortably.

The troubles inside stretched Duke’s defense too wide, resulting in open looks from the three-point line for Siena, and Gavin Doty and Brendan Coyle took advantage of those opportunities.

With Ngongba expected to return to action, Duke will now take on TCU, resting assured that they can call upon the sophomore forward if they have trouble shutting down the Horned Frogs inside. Jon Scheyer’s tactical nous will come in handy, too. However, the Duke head coach must do better after admitting to being out-coached in the Sienna game.

Jon Scheyer praises Siena head coach after close first-round result

While several top teams have tried and failed to trouble Jon Scheyer’s Duke side this year, 16-seed Siena almost did the unthinkable, taking the Blue Devils to the extreme, ultimately losing by six points. Duke never felt comfortable inside the game after Siena took the lead early in the first half, and at one point, led by 13 points.

A spirited second-half from Duke rescued a result, avoiding a big upset in the NCAA Tournament. But Jon Scheyer did not shy away from admitting Siena head coach Gerry McNamara out-coached him on the night, which is even more impressive since the Saints’ starters never went off the floor for the entire game.

Speaking after the win, Jon Scheyer said,” I’ve known Gerry for a long time. G-Mac had his guys way more ready to play than I did. He outcoached me; he outcoached us. That’s one of the hardest moments for me in sport, period, to not have your best stuff.”

Gerry McNamara and Jon Scheyer have a long-standing relationship. In fact, Scheyer called upon McNamara before signing Maliq Brown in the transfer portal. Beating an iconic blueblood favored to win the National Championship without resting his starters throughout the game deserves plaudits.

And the Siena Saints could have actually won if not for a heroic performance from the Boozer brothers. The duo combined for 41 of Duke’s 71 points in the six-point win and saved Scheyer from what could have been one of his worst results since becoming the head coach at Duke.

For now, focus shifts to the game against TCU as Jon Scheyer’s men look to take another step towards the NCAA Championship.