Going into the ACC Tournament this week at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, the Duke men’s basketball team is a heavy favorite. They rolled through the regular season at 17-1, with their only loss in conference being a buzzer-beater at North Carolina.
They got revenge on the Tar Heels for that loss last Saturday night at home when they beat UNC. Earlier in the week, it was announced that North Carolina’s star freshman Caleb Wilson was going to be out for the rest of the season after getting hurt in practice—a huge setback for a team that is hoping for a deep March run.
As for Duke, that win came with a major loss when guard Caleb Foster was injured in the first half. He was on the bench in the second half, wearing a walking boot. There was no update after the game. However, on Tuesday, head coach Jon Scheyer gave an update. It wasn’t good.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Gives Disappointing Caleb Foster Injury Update
Meeting with the media two days before beginning the ACC Tournament, Scheyer said that Fooster suffered a fracture in his right foot and had surgery on Sunday. Scheyer went on to say that he will be out for the foreseeable future.
“In our mind, we’ll do everything we possibly can with our mindset to continue to advance where we can give him a shot to come back when it’s all said and done,” Scheyer said. “But he is going to be out for a foreseeable time.”
With the NCAA Tournament beginning next week, it’s hard to envision that Foster will be back this season. Scheyer is planning to try to get him ready to play at some point, but that will be very difficult.
“Our mindset is to get him ready for the NCAA Tournament,” Scheyer said. “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.”
Duke NCAA Tournament Hopes Take Huge Hit
Without a doubt, this is a major blow for the Blue Devils. Foster is Duke’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 8.5 points and 2.8 assists a game. Scheyer still has a very good roster, but overcoming Foster’s injury in the NCAA Tournament might be a tall ask.
The Blue Devils are also dealing with an injury to Patrick Ngongba II, who is dealing with foot soreness. Scheyer said that he’ll miss the ACC Tournament, but is hopeful he’ll return for the NCAA Tournament.
Duke will play their first game in the ACC Tournament on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s second round game between California and Florida State. Already a likely No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, their case to be the top overall seed might come down to how they do in Charlotte and how things shake out with Florida and Michigan in their tournaments.
Duke owns a head-to-head win over Michigan already this year and is 29-2 overall. Freshman Cayden Boozer is expected to see more action with Foster out. Cayden is the twin brother of Cameron and the son of former Duke standout Carlos Boozer.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Gives Devastating Caleb Foster Injury Update