Why Top Ranked Duke May Play With Or Without Center Patrick Ngongba II When Top Ranked Duke, 17th Ranked North Carolina Play 2025-2026 Regular Season Finale Saturday Night In Durham
8 miles is the distance that separates the campuses of Duke University , University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill!
In 2025-2026 regular season Patrick Ngongba II who is a center who is a sophomore for Duke is averaging 10.7 points 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists while shooting 60.2 %
According to ESPN App
On Friday night Patrick Ngongba II was listed as questionable on the initial ACC availability report.
Why?
Because he has some soreness in his foot.. He went through walkaround earlier this morning. It’s his right foot ( the one that was in boot Friday he’s a gametime decision.
According to Pete Thamel Of ESPN
Duke comes into the rematch with North Carolina ranked #1 in week 17 AP Top 25 poll because they’ve won seven straight Atlantic Coast Conference games including their previous Atlantic Coast Conference game on Monday March 2, 2026 a 93-64 win at NC State where Cameron Boozer who is a freshman a forward was 8-10 on field goals , 1-2 on 3 pointers , 9-11 on free throws to go along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists. Isaiah Evans who is a guard was 4-8 on field goals , 4-8 on 3 pointers to go along with 2 rebounds, 12 points
As top ranked Duke went on to rout NC State 93-64 Monday night in North Carolina’s state capital four players scored in double figures! Those four players were Cameron Boozer who is a freshman a forward was 8-10 on field goals , 1-2 on 3 pointers , 9-11 on free throws to go along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists. Isaiah Evans who is a guard was 4-8 on field goals , 4-8 on 3 pointers to go along with 2 rebounds, 12 points Patrick Ngongba II who is a sophomore who is a center who was 4-6 on field goals , 3-4 on free throws to go along with 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 11 points. Dame Sarr who is a freshman who is a guard was 5-9 on field goals , 3-6 on 3 pointers , 3-4 on free throws to go along 8 rebounds, 1 assists , 16 points.
According to ESPN App
Following top ranked Duke going on to rout NC State Monday night in North Carolina’s state capital went on to clinch Atlantic Coast Conference outright Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer shared his thoughts by saying The IQ of this group to understand and figure out different ways to attack doubles, to attack zone,”
We’ve seen switching. We’ve seen a lot, and I think that we have an advantage to attack any of them, as long as we continue to trust the pass and play together.”
I’m really proud of the team to get to win the ACC outright,”
Twenty-eight wins at this point of the year, and just their professionalism, their approach; they’ve been an absolute joy to coach. We talked about after Saturday, it’s great to get a share. That means a lot, but let’s get this thing outright.”
According to Jadyn Watson Fisher, Chip Alexander News & Observer article https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/article314782556.html
North Carolina comes into rematch with Duke with record of 24-6 overall 12-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings finished fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season because they’ve won four straight Atlantic Coast Conference games including their game on Tuesday March 3, 2026 topping Clemson 67-63 in Chapel Hill where pair of players scored double figures in Luka Bogavac who is a freshman who is a guard was 6-14 on field goals 6-10 on 3 pointers , 2-2 on free throws to go along with 1 rebound, 3 assists, 20 points. Henri Veesaar who is a junior who is a center
Following North Carolina topping Clemson 67-63 Tuesday March 3, 2026 North Carolina Head Coach Hubert Davis shared his thoughts by saying Going undefeated at home and being able to do it while having to deal with all the things that they had to deal with even makes it even more special,”
According to Chapel Foweler’s News & Observer article https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/unc/article314864252.html
Tip -off is set for 6:30pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium!
The game is going to be televised on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Kris Budden commentating!
Dan Shulman is play-by-play commentator for men’s college basketball on ESPN.
Shulman calls Saturday Primetime men’s college basketball games alongside analyst Jay Bilas and provides commentary for some of the top matchups throughout the season. He also called regular season MLB games for the network and was the voice of the World Series on ESPN Radio from 2011-22.
Shulman began working for ESPN in 1995 and previously served as the voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (2011-17), Monday Night Baseball (2008-10) and Wednesday Night Baseball (2002-07), along with ESPN Radio’s MLB postseason (1998-2022) and regular season (2002-07) coverage. Shulman also called NBA games for the network from 2006-11.
Outside of ESPN, Shulman handles play-by-play calls for the Toronto Blue Jays on Sportsnet in Canada (2016-present). Prior to ESPN, he called Blue Jays games on The Sports Network (TSN) from 1995-2001 and was the play-by-play commentator for the network’s NBA package of Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies games.
Shulman called Canadian Television’s (CTV) hockey coverage for the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, and CBC’s coverage of Olympic basketball for both the Tokyo (2021) and Paris (2024) Games.
Shulman has served in a variety of host roles for several networks, including: The Leafs This Week, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ weekly magazine show on CFTO (1992-95); The Major League Report and Baseball Today shows for The Fan, a 24-hour sports radio station in Toronto; Prime Time Sports, a syndicated sports radio show carried on stations across Canada; Blue Jays pre- and post-game shows on the Telemedia Sports Network, and various ESPN Radio weekend programming (1992-94).
Shulman has received many accolades and honors for his work. He was named the 2011 NSSA National Sportscaster of the Year, he is a two-time winner of the Sports Media Canada Broadcaster of the Year award (2000, 2007), he received the Jack Graney award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, and he is a 2-time finalist for the Ford Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Shulman is a 1989 graduate of the University of Western Ontario, where he received a degree in actuarial science.
Kris Budden is a college sports reporter for ESPN, working on football, basketball and baseball. She joins Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick on one of the top crews every Saturday for ABC and ESPN’s industry-leading college football coverage. She recently made her debut on grand slam tennis coverage with reporting duties at the US Open.
Prior to joining ESPN, Kris was a sideline and feature reporter for FOX Sports, covering NFL and college football from 2013-2015. During that time, Kris also worked for FOX Sports San Diego as a host and reporter for their coverage of the San Diego Padres.
Kris also spent six years at WBIR in Knoxville. Some of the notable events she covered included the 2012 London Olympics, NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments and Pat Summitt’s retirement. She also won an Associated Press Best Sports Feature Award.
She has been recognized for her excellence in sports broadcasting, having received an Associated Press Award for Best Sports, as well as a regional Emmy for Best Talent in Sports in 2016.
Kris graduated from the University of Missouri. She and her husband currently reside in Dallas with their son and daughter.
According to https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/dan-shulman/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/bilas_jay/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/kris-budden/