WASHINGTON (AP) — Duke point guard Caleb Foster returned to the court less than three weeks after breaking his foot.
If he hadn’t, the Blue Devils might have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
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 won 80-75 over St. John’s on Friday night to advance to a third consecutive Elite Eight.
“I was hoping we could get eight minutes from him tonight,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “He completely surpassed my expectations. We needed every last basket, shot, poise.”
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 had surgery 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’d been doing while sidelined, Foster, who rolled into the media interview room, joked: “I’ve been driving fast on a scooter — just a lot of recovery.”
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’s.
Although the Blue Devils are pretty healthy again, Ngongba — who returned from his own foot issues in the second round against TCU — had a rough time against St. John’s. He scored three points while going 1 of 6 from the free-throw line.
“We’ll see how quickly they can turn around. That’s the next test,” Scheyer said. “But they’re 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.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
