Duke earned its revenge against North Carolina on Saturday night, but the win was soured by some potentially devastating injury news for the No. 1-ranked team in the country.
During the first half of action, junior guard Caleb Foster left the game after suffering what appeared to be a right foot injury. He appeared to injure the foot while attempting to guard Seth Trimble, as replay footage shows him stepping on Trimble's foot, resulting in an awkward twist that left him grimacing in pain.
Shortly after, Foster was taken to the locker room for further evaluation, and was ruled out for the remainder of the game before the second half even began.
Uh oh.
Foster was seen leaving Cameron Indoor Stadium with a boot on his right foot (as seen while he was sitting on the bench upon his return to the floor), and used a knee scooter to help him navigate around.
If you want more details on the injury, check out this article from our Ball Durham team here.
Let's set the record straight
This is not one of those posts that is boasting about a particular injury. We hope that Foster is okay and understand the importance of what he means to this Blue Devils team, especially a unit that has aspirations of making a deep NCAA Tournament run.
Injuries are never something to celebrate, and we hope that Foster can return to action in the near future.
With that being cleared up.
Don't expect to see Foster in the upcoming ACC Tournament
While speaking to the media after the game, Jon Scheyer admitted that he would be shocked to see both Caleb Foster and Pat Ngongba II (who sat out the regular season finale due to injury), play in Charlotte during this week's ACC Tournamwnt.
If North Carolina and Duke, both of whom have double-byes, win their first game of the tournament, they will square off once again in the quarterfinal round on Friday night.
Henri Veesaar provided a blunt response to UNC's second-half effort against Duke
In the event this scenario plays out, North Carolina, regardless of whether Ngongba plays or not, they need to be tougher on the glass. Cameron Boozer, Maliq Brown and company had their way on the glass, especially on the offensive glass, as UNC must come out with a more focused effort on the boards.
If Foster doesn't play, that's a huge element for Duke, and North Carolina has to be ready to see Scheyer throw different looks at them.
For starters, Cayden Boozer will take over the reins as the starting point guard, but don't be surprised if Cameron Boozer has his fair share of point guard duties. When North Carolina has the ball, Seth Trimble must work his way into the lane and draw some contact, as Duke will need to rely on its depth if Cayden Boozer lands in early foul trouble.
What about Duke's NCAA Tournament odds?
Many people believe that this Duke team is the clear-cut favorite to win it all this season, the injury status of both Foster and Ngongba II will play huge roles in terms of how far this Duke team can go.
Of course, no injury update has been provided, as Foster could be limited to missing a short amount of time before being ready for the NCAA Tournament. If his injury is more severe (which, again, no one is hoping for), that does change Duke's tournament hopes a bit, but this team is still deep enough to figure out a way to get through it.
While there might not be a clear cut team (or teams) who can stop Duke this March, the injury bug might play a part in how their season ends over the next few weeks.