Duke basketball, No. 6 in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll, is squaring off against the No. 19-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 SEC) in the nightcap of the Champions Classic in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena at 9:11 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).
ALSO READ: Kon-Fire in Cameron Leads to Blue Devil-Friendly Hardware
Ahead of the highly anticipated blueblood showdown, national college hoops insider Jon Rothstein reported that third-year Duke head coach Jon Scheyer and his talent-rich Blue Devils (2-0, 0-0 ACC) will have the services of center Patrick Ngongba II on call versus the Wildcats. That said, there’s no guarantee the 6-foot-11, 250-pound rookie will enter the game.
It may depend on whether or not a fellow Duke basketball freshman big man, starting center Khaman Maluach, racks up early fouls in the contest.
Ngongba sat out of the Blue Devils’ preseason action and first two regular season games while trying to get to 100 percent in light of foot injuries he sustained as a five-star senior at Paul VI Catholic High School (Va.) last year. However, after watching pregame warmups from the sidelines during Duke’s exhibition slate, he participated in layup lines and such for the squad’s blowout wins over Maine and Army last week.
Following the bout against Kentucky, the Blue Devils will gear up to welcome Wofford to Cameron Indoor Stadium at noon ET Saturday.
ALSO READ: Duke Blue Devil Staff Schedules Another True Road Contest
Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.
In Kentucky’s 77-72 upset win over Duke at the State Farm Champions Classic, Blue Devils superstar Cooper Flagg detonated for 26
I’ve been blogging about the Gophers for more than 15 years. Back in the long-long-ago when I was just an intern at a PR agency looking for a creative outl
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Since Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats' hiring in 2019, the Crimson Tide has grown renowned for its shooting ability from downtown in
The hottest ticket in high school sports might just be girls basketball. With the steady rise of appreciation for the game's skills, competitiveness and stagger