For about 65 minutes of basketball in Greenville, SC, Duke looked like a shell of a team that was the best team in the country. They struggled mightily against 16th-seeded Siena and barely escaped with a 71-65 win. At the 15-minute mark of the 2nd half against 9 seed TCU they trailed 42-40.
There was more energy than against Siena, and some good moments, but clearly they were still off. Then it was like a switch went off. Buoyed by the return of big Patrick Ngongba, who showed a little rust but still was a huge factor, Duke looked like Duke again. Now they are headed to the Sweet 16.
They outscored TCU 41-16 the rest of the way with Cam Boozer owning the paint, timely shooting from the perimeter, and 15 minutes of defense that might have been the best of the tournament.
If you don’t think so, look at TCU’s results against the other number 1 seeds because they played them all.
Something to ponder for the “Duke hasn’t looked good in the tournament” crowd…
TCU against the four 1 seeds this season:
Nov 14 vs Michigan: L by 4
Nov 27 vs Florida: W by 4
Jan 10 vs Arizona: L by 13
Mar 21 vs Duke: L by 23— Duke Basketball In Depth (@DukeInDepth) March 22, 2026
That TCU team also beat Wisconsin, Iowa State, Texas had a single-digit loss to Houston. Jaime Dixon’s bunch was a solid, solid basketball team that Duke wasted.
That is Duke we know. The one that beat Michigan State, Florida, Michigan, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, and just tore through the best ACC in years.
Defensively, Duke is right back to where they were before the Ngongba and Caleb Foster injuries.ies. Offensively, I still don’t think things run as smoothly with Cayden Boozer as with Foster, and that’s something Jon Scheyer will continue to need to look into over the next several days. When you can play defense the way Duke showed Saturday, though, you’ve put yourself again in that Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Houston, category.
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