Reenergized Duke Basketball Team Overpowers TCU in Round of 32

Duke basketball advanced to its 35th overall Sweet 16 and third straight under Jon Scheyer's command.

Mar 21, 2026; Greenville, SC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Isaiah Evans (3) drives to the basket against Texas Christian University Horned Frogs guard Jayden Pierre (1) during the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

No. 1 seed Duke basketball, enjoying an eight-man rotation for the first time in two weeks but still without the services of a regular season starter in junior point guard Caleb Foster (right foot fracture), snagged a Sweet 16 spot by taking care of business versus the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs with an impressive 81-58 win at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday night. No doubt it marked a sweeter effort than Thursday's 71-65 escape against the No. 16 Siena Saints.

Across the first eight minutes of action, Jon Scheyer's top-ranked Blue Devils and Jamie Dixon's Horned Frogs battled to the tune of four ties and two lead changes. Three of those minutes included Duke basketball sophomore big man Patrick Ngongba II's return from a five-game absence (foot soreness), as he tallied two points, two rebounds, and two turnovers during that span while shaking off the rust.

Mar 21, 2026; Greenville, SC, USA; Texas Christian University Horned Frogs guard Liutauras Lelevicius (3) drives to the basket against Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba (21) during the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Following the under-12 timeout, at which point Duke trailed by one at 15-14, the Blue Devils heated up thanks in large part to the crafty sharpshooting and overall bucket-finding performance that sophomore wing Isaiah Evans put on display.

By the under-8 timeout, Evans had already posted a double-digit scoring total with his 11 points to go along with one assist and zero turnovers. At that juncture, Evans was shooting 3-for-6 from the field, 2-for-3 from three, and 3-for-3 at the charity stripe, and Scheyer's bunch led, 27-22.

Isaiah Evans completes the four-point play 🤯 pic.twitter.com/FyYy1D2dgU

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2026

A quick-thinking tip-in by Ngongba, who logged seven minutes in the first half, then extended Duke's lead to seven at 29-22. The Blue Devils continued to seek out an advantage with its widespread firepower and forced the Horned Frogs into foul trouble — Xavier Edmonds and Liu Lelevicius notching three apiece across the first 20 minutes — while answering TCU's consistent attacks with just enough of their own to take a 38-34 advantage into halftime.

At the half, seven members of Duke's rotation were on the board in the scoring column. Evans led the way with 13 points, followed by senior forward Maliq Brown's 10.

Slim: 13 points
Liq: 10 points, 4 boards pic.twitter.com/LnSw1UoW4L

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 21, 2026

Duke Basketball Struggles Early in Second Half Before Asserting Complete Control

Neither Duke nor TCU scored in the first two minutes of the second half. But the Horned Frogs quickly changed that with their 6-0 run to take a 40-38 lead and force a timeout by Jon Scheyer with 16:11 remaining on the clock.

The Blue Devils instantly responded, though, as Cameron Boozer suddenly flipped on the switch to his ferocious moves, completing ane-one opportunities on back-to-back possessions to put Duke back on top at 50-44 less than seven minutes into the second half. Fellow freshman forward Nikolas Khamenia added to the favored side's amplifying party with a 3-point splash from the corner to ensure a 53-44 lead at the under-12 timeout.

IT'S A 9-0 DUKE RUN 🔥#MarchMadness @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/E8VJjM8SC6

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2026

And from that point forward, the high-powered Blue Devils, now 34-2 this season and still within reach of setting a new all-time Duke basketball season win record should they advance to and win the national championship en route to turning in a 38-2 mark, refused to let go of their momentum.

Four Blue Devils finished the clash with double-digit points: Cameron Boozer (19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, one block), Isaiah Evans (17 points, three rebounds), Maliq Brown (12 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one block), and freshman guard Dame Sarr (14 points, seven rebounds, one assist, two steals, one block).

TCU Horned Frogs forward David Punch (15) defends Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) Saturday, March 21, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jon Scheyer and his fourth Duke basketball squad will now gear up for a trip to Washington, D.C., where they'll face Sunday evening's winner between the No. 4 seed Kansas Jayhawks and No. 5 seed St. John's Red Storm. The Blue Devils will tip off the program's 35th all-time Sweet 16 appearance on Friday (time and channel to be announced) at Capital One Arena.

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