Duke Projected Starting Lineup for Sweet 16

As teams advance deeper into March Madness, rotations naturally get shorter, with coaches leaning on their best and most trusted players. Here is how Duke's starting lineup and bench could look against the Johnnies.

Projected Starters

Duke has been without two key starters since the beginning of March, with Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba sidelined by injury. In their absence, Cayden Boozer and Maliq Brown have stepped into the starting lineup and played very well at point guard and center, respectively.

There is little reason to expect the starting lineup to change. Cayden Boozer, Isaiah Evans, and Dame Sarr figure to start in the backcourt, while Cameron Boozer and Maliq Brown will anchor the frontcourt.

The one potential change worth considering would be Jon Scheyer sliding Nikolas Khamenia into the small forward spot and bringing Sarr off the bench. Khamenia is a more polished pure shooter than Sarr, and Scheyer could look to surround Cameron Boozer with additional floor spacers to open up the paint. However, given how well Sarr has been shooting recently, a change to the starting lineup would be surprising.

The Bench

Duke's bench has been thin with Foster and Ngongba both unavailable, placing more responsibility on the starters to carry heavy minutes. A sixth man has been logging close to 25 minutes per game as a result.

Khamenia has been the go-to option off the bench, and his shooting ability makes him too valuable to move out of that role. Darren Harris has also seen time in both tournament games, and while logging just 13 total minutes, he has provided Cayden Boozer with some rest at the point guard position and given Duke solid minutes ine the process.

Ngongba made his return against TCU, playing 13 minutes and making a noticeable impact on the defensive end. However, four fouls and four turnovers made it clear that the rust is still there. With nearly a full week to recover and practice with the team, he will likely remain on a minutes restriction and continue to come off the bench.

Foster is also hopeful to return for the St. John's game, but like Ngongba, he would almost certainly be on a minutes restriction. If both players are available in any capacity, it would give Duke a deeper and more versatile rotation at exactly the right time in the tournament.