WASHINGTON DC – (Staff and Wire Service Preview) – James Naismith Award favorite Cameron Boozer and Duke will continue their pursuit of the program’s sixth national title and first since coach Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement when they face coach Rick Pitino’s resurgent St. John’s in Friday night’s East Regional semifinal.
Boozer posted his 20th and 21st double-doubles in the first two rounds of the tournament as No. 1 seed Duke (34-2) survived a scare in a 71-65 win over No. 16 Siena, then comfortably handled No. 9, TCU by a 81-58 score.
The freshman forward could have a healthier squad behind him Friday. Center Patrick Ngongba II (right foot soreness) is cleared to play a second game after returning from a 19-day layoff against TCU. Caleb Foster (right foot fracture) will be a game-time decision as he tries to play for the first time since a win against North Carolina in the regular-season finale March 7.
“Pat responded well. You never know how that’s going to go. He’s on track to play again (Friday), which is a really big deal for us,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Then Caleb, I just go back to when he got hurt, he told me, ‘Look, if I do this and work every day, you got to promise me you’ll let me put this uniform on again with our guys.’
Pitino is in his 14th Sweet 16 appearance and first with St. John’s (30-6) during a season that has represented a renaissance for coach and program alike.
Pitino was let go by Louisville after the 2016-17 season amid multiple scandals, eventually returned to coaching college ball at Iona after a three-year layoff, and moved to St. John’s for the 2023-2024 season.
Under Pitino, No. 5 St. John’s reached its first NCAA Tournament in six years last season, and is now making its first Sweet 16 showing since 1999. At age 73, he has no intention of this being a last hurrah.
“I just missed it every single day I was out of it,” Pitino said Thursday. “So I realized there’s no reason to try and get out because I knew how much I missed it.”
Dylan Darling sank a running layup at the buzzer to decide the Red Storm’s 67-65 win over No. 4 seed Kansas in the second round last weekend.
Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 79-53 first-round victory against No. 12 Northern Iowa. He is the Red Storm’s top producer, averaging 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
He’ll be tasked with trying to limit Boozer and Duke on the glass, where the Blue Devils have outrebounded opponents by a plus-11 margin this year.
“Obviously just a special talent coming in as a freshman, really smart player, understanding the game pretty well,” Ejiofor said. “It’s never a one-man job, especially with Boozer. Really talented, really physical. We just got to make sure he sees bodies and really just get at them, apply the pressure, press for 40 minutes.”
– Field Level Media