What to Expect From Caleb Foster’s Likely Return in Duke-St. John’s Sweet 16 Clash

Duke junior guard Caleb Foster is expected to play in Friday night’s Sweet 16 showdown against No. 5 seed St. John’s, according to a report from Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports.

Foster, who has been out of the lineup with a fractured foot since a March 7 victory over North Carolina, is less than three weeks removed from surgery, but is expected to participate barring any setbacks during shootaround on Friday afternoon.

Wolfson noted in her report that Foster isn’t expected to play a lot of minutes on Friday night, but he will likely suit up at less than 100%.

Foster hasn't been the only member of the Blue Devils banged up

Foster and big man Patrick Ngongba II both missed time leading up to the NCAA tournament with foot issues. Ngongba did not play in the round of 64 victory over Siena, but he did return to the lineup for Duke’s round of 32 win over No. 9 TCU. He scored four points in 13 minutes in his return to the floor. Prior to the second-round matchup, Ngongba had not played since a March 2 win over NC State.

Expect something similar in terms of minutes for Foster, a usual starter for the Blue Devils who left the March 7 victory over the Tar Heels after playing just eight minutes. He scored two points and had one steal in limited action before the injury.

Even with Foster and Ngongba at less than 100%, this is the closest the Blue Devils have been to whole since early March, when they looked every bit the part of a national championship contender.

Duke's national title outlook

Despite the injuries, the Blue Devils earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Perhaps the committee factored in a potential return of Foster and Ngongba into its thinking, but when 100% healthy, this Duke team had been a force to be reckoned with.

With everybody healthy, this is Jon Scheyer’s best roster since taking over the program from Mike Krzyzewski. The tricky part, of course, is that neither Foster or Ngongba are close to full health.

A battle against a stout, and red-hot St. John’s squad that plays elite defense and struggles to score awaits the Blue Devils on Friday night. Scheyer will be going up against one of the best college coaches of the generation in Rick Pitino, who will surely have his guys ready to play against a short-handed Duke team. If the Blue Devils survive Friday night’s affair, a date against either Michigan State or UConn will stand in the way of Duke’s chances of making a second-consecutive Final Four.

If Duke can make the final weekend, it'll be another week for Foster and Ngongba to recover. While neither will be fully healthy until the offseason, an even better version of both players could be present for the Blue Devils' final run to try to win a national championship.

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