By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke won’t have starting big man Patrick Ngongba II on Thursday for its first-round game against Siena in March Madness because of soreness in his right foot.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound sophomore was ruled out Wednesday night on the pregame availability report. That comes after he had missed four straight games for the Blue Devils (32-2), first as a game-time decision for the regular-season finale against rival North Carolina and then last week’s three-game run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.
Earlier Wednesday, coach Jon Scheyer had said Ngongba was “very unlikely” to play. He had previously expressed optimism that Ngongba would be ready for the start of the NCAA Tournament after the foot issues crept up during a late-season win at N.C. State.
“He’s been progressing as we’ve gotten closer to tomorrow,” Scheyer said Wednesday before No. 1 overall tournament seed’s practice for its East Region opener. “I think it’s very unlikely that he plays tomorrow. We’re taking it day by day. He’s itching to play, but we’re not quite there for tomorrow just yet.”
Ngongba was still wearing a protective boot on his right foot in the locker room and still using a knee scooter to limit walking. He didn’t speak to reporters.
Ngongba has started 28 of his 29 games, averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds while proving an effective rim protector. He joined star freshman and Associated Press first-team all-American Cameron Boozer and versatile defender Maliq Brown in helping the Blue Devils overwhelm smaller opponents on the glass and in the paint.
After Ngongba missed the ACC Tournament finale, Scheyer mentioned “benchmarks” that Ngongba is working to meet with the team’s medical staff on his recovery in hopes of eliminating the soreness in the foot.
Scheyer said Wednesday that Ngongba has not experienced a setback.
“It’s not just anything where you can say two weeks and you’re back, 12 days and you’re back,” Scheyer said. “You have to take it step by step with what he’s doing. Everything is going in a good direction, but I think the comfort that we want him to feel is not quite there. So that’s something we can only know day to day.
“I can tell you that in a perfect world, I think he’d be playing tomorrow. But it’s nothing other than he’s not quite ready to go. We’ll do everything we can to get ready for Saturday and go from there.”