A massive East Region hurdle for Michigan State just suffered what could be a national title-ruining blow this week with some devastating injury news.
According to Newsweek, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer revealed that starting point guard Caleb Foster would likely miss the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament, at least. Before, it was reported that Foster could return for the Big Dance, but his fractured foot will likely keep him out for the entire NCAA Tournament.
That’s a big loss for Duke because that’s a lost primary ball-handler and veteran who averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting over 40 percent from three. He scored 12 big points against Michigan State back in December.
As if that wasn’t bad enough news, Jon Rothstein reported on Wednesday afternoon that starting center, and third-leading scorer, Patrick Ngongba II would be out for at least the first-round game. He’s “very unlikely” to play on Thursday against Siena, and he could even miss Saturday’s second-round matchup against Ohio State or TCU.
Down a starting point guard and starting center didn’t seem to hurt Duke in the ACC Tournament as the Blue Devils won the championship, but they looked much more beatable.
I could very well see Ohio State or TCU upsetting the shorthanded Blue Devils in round two. That actually wouldn’t shock me, although I wouldn’t predict it.
Michigan State’s road to a Final Four is getting interesting
Michigan State was placed in a brutal East Region with Kansas, UConn, Duke, St. John’s, Louisville, UCLA, Ohio State, and TCU headlining it, but some recent news makes the road to a potential Final Four look a lot more manageable.
On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that Louisville would be without star guard Mikel Brown Jr. in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. That’s Michigan State’s potential second-round opponent.
And now there’s this news about Duke who has been the most popular pick to win the East Region, but many are predicting an Elite Eight battle with Michigan State.
If Michigan State can manage to get out of the bottom half of the bracket unscathed and Duke remains without Foster, I really like the Spartans’ chances to pull off the “upset”.