WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Duke point guard Caleb Foster returned to the court less than three weeks after
If he hadn’t, the Blue Devils might have been eliminated from the
Back from a five-game absence, Foster scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Duke rallied from a 10-point deficit and over St. John’s on Friday night to advance to a third consecutive Elite Eight.
鈥淚 was hoping we could get eight minutes from him tonight,鈥� coach Jon Scheyer said. 鈥淗e completely surpassed my expectations. We needed every last basket, shot, poise.鈥�
Foster did not start against the Red Storm, but he came in as a substitute with 14:36 remaining in the first half and received a big cheer when he was announced. On his first trip down the court, he threw an alley-oop to Patrick Ngongba II.
Foster broke his foot on March 7 in Duke’s regular-season finale against North Carolina and that weekend. He missed the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which the Blue Devils won, and then the first two rounds of March Madness.
On Friday, he shot 5 of 8 from the field and added three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.
When asked what he鈥檇 been doing while sidelined, Foster, who rolled into the media interview room, joked: 鈥淚鈥檝e been driving fast on a scooter 鈥� just a lot of recovery.鈥�
Foster’s return gives Duke more backcourt depth as the Blue Devils try to win their first national title since 2015. Duke faced double-digit deficits in a first-round win over Siena and then Friday against St. John鈥檚.
Although the Blue Devils are pretty healthy again, Ngongba 鈥� who returned from his own foot issues in the second round against TCU 鈥� had a rough time against St. John’s. He scored three points while going 1 of 6 from the free-throw line.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see how quickly they can turn around. That鈥檚 the next test,鈥� Scheyer said. 鈥淏ut they鈥檙e so important to us, and it was great just getting a chance to coach our team whole. That was a blessing to be able to do that.鈥�
___
AP March Madness bracket: and coverage:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
