Duke showed toughness under fire to earn Elite Eight matchup with UConn
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- Duke trailed by 10 in the second half but won 80-75 in the Sweet 16.
- Caleb Foster returned from foot surgery and played 18 minutes.
- Duke will face No. 2 UConn in the East final for a Final Four spot.
If there was any lingering doubt about Duke’s toughness, it was answered Friday against St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament.
Answered again, according to Duke’s Cayden Boozer.
The Blue Devils found themselves trailing the Red Storm by 10 points in the second half of the East Region semifinal. At times, the rough-and-tumble play of St. John’s, which employs a disruptive and almost defiant defense, appeared to have the Blue Devils indecisive and almost flustered.
Maybe beatable? Not this day. The Blue Devils, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAAs, answered that challenge with an 80-75 victory in an ultra competitive Sweet 16 game at Capital One Arena.
Duke (35-2) will face No. 2 seed Connecticut (32-5) on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. in the East Region final, with a Final Four berth at stake.
“I think we showed the team that we are,” Boozer said. “No matter how ugly it is, we figure out a way to get the job done.”
Duke unleashed so many weapons
Isaiah Evans’ 25 points helped get the job done. Cam Boozer’s 22 points and 10 rebounds were a big part of it. Maliq Brown’s defensive alertness and savvy play was critical. Duke’s second half zone defense was a key component.
And Caleb Foster. What more can be said about the junior guard who broke a bone in his foot against North Carolina on March 7, had surgery the next day for a fracture, vowed he would return during the NCAA Tournament and did that Friday?
In 18 minutes, Foster displayed his toughness and his willingness to accept the pain -- and there had to be some in his right foot -- to get the Blue Devils a victory.
“What he did today was elite,” Cayden Boozer said.
An ugly win? In the NCAA Tournament, winning is the only thing.
“I feel like a lot of people were doubting us,” Cayden Boozer said. “I think we prove to the world each and every day that you can’t doubt us.”
Healthy again
The Blue Devils were back to full strength Friday. In addition to Foster’s return, sophomore center Pat Ngongba, who has been slowed by foot soreness, played his second straight game.
Ngongba was in for 17 minutes and despite some problems at the foul line – he missed five of six free throws – he was able to help fill the paint and cause some problems defensively around the rim.
“It’s super great,” Cayden Boozer said. “When we have all nine guys (in the rotation), it’s really tough to beat us. Having him back is super important to us.”
But so was the play of Evans. The guy they call “Slim” can beat teams with his 3-pointers when he’s on but has shown more willingness to put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket in the postseason.
Evans was 10-of-15 from the field against the Red Storm, going 4-for-8 on his 3’s and giving Duke the lead for good with 3:54 left on a stepback 3 from the left of the key. But he also made six of seven of his 2-point shots, some on slashing drives that displayed both his quickness and fearlessness.
“I know the scouting report on me is to not let me get my (3-point) shot off, so I try to use their over aggression to get more easy layups and paint touches,” Evans said.
Evans has shown some toughness, taking some bumps and body bruises to get the ball to the hoop. But it’s a part of Duke’s DNA, Cam Boozer said.
“We’ve shown toughness all year long,” Boozer said. “We’ve had some comebacks. We’ve taken some punches in the face. We took some punches in the face tonight and responded after they punched us with those turnovers and dunks.
“I thought we did a pretty good job overall. We had some stretches where we gave them a run with turnovers, but through the game overall we did a pretty good job weathering the storm.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Duke showed toughness under fire to earn Elite Eight matchup with UConn."
