Duke's path to the Elite Eight required a comeback and a player who had no business being on the floor. The No. 1 overall seed Blue Devils beat fifth-seeded St. John's 80-75 Friday in Washington, D.C., after trailing by 10 in the second half, to advance to Sunday's East Regional final against No. 2 UConn at 5:05 p.m.
Caleb Foster, who fractured his right foot on March 7 and had surgery the next day, returned to the lineup after just 20 days and played 18 minutes. He scored on four consecutive possessions to spark the comeback, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Coach Jon Scheyer said he expected Foster to contribute eight to ten minutes. "He had no business playing," Scheyer said. "Ninety-nine percent of guys do not come back to play under those circumstances."
Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Cameron Boozer added 22 points and 10 rebounds. The three combined for 38 of Duke's 41 second-half points.
St. John's, the Big East champions, led at halftime and shot 9-of-18 from three in the first half before going cold, finishing 4-of-14 beyond the arc after the break. Duke (35-2) faces UConn (32-5) on Sunday with a Final Four berth on the line.