At the Elite Eight in Washington, D.C., on March 29, then-Duke basketball freshman Nik Khamenia tallied seven points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal across his 22 minutes on the floor in the Blue Devils' crushing 73-72 loss to the UConn Huskies. But the former McDonald's All-American from Los Angeles was on the bench in the final 10 seconds when UConn's Braylon Mullins, now Khamenia's teammate and roommate in Storrs, Conn., ultimately drained his famous three to sink Duke.

Unfortunately for Khamenia, the Huskies, and those who were hoping to see him face his former school in the highly anticipated meeting between Duke and UConn later his month, it looks like a sure thing that he will be on the bench that night.

Khamenia suffered a left foot injury during the first half of No. 4-ranked UConn's 83-41 home win over the unranked Wagner Seahawks on Monday night. And on Thursday evening, the program announced that the 19-year-old is set to have surgery and miss several weeks of action.

"Nik will have surgery in the coming days and is expected to make a full recovery," two-time national champion head coach Dan Hurley noted in his statement released on social media. "He will be reevaluated in 6-8 weeks."

Duke, currently No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll but likely to drop at least a couple of spots next week in light of the Blue Devils' 79-73 loss to the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans at the Champions Classic in Chicago's United Center on Tuesday night, is gearing up to host the unranked SIU Edwardsville Cougars in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8 p.m. ET Friday (The CW). Meanwhile, UConn is getting ready to take on the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Hartford, Conn., at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday.

Jon Scheyer and his fifth Duke basketball collection will welcome the No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini to Durham for a home bout at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN) and square off against the unranked Washington State Cougars in Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 21, before playing UConn in Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 25. UConn's pre-Duke slate includes a true road test against the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.

How the One-Year Duke Basketball Talent Has Fared at UConn Thus Far

After playing in all 38 games for a 2025-26 Blue Devil team that finished 35-3 overall and averaging 5.7 points across his 19.8 minutes per game — primarily off the bench — Nik Khamenia entered the transfer portal back in early April. Less than two weeks later, he stunned Duke basketball fans by deciding on UConn as his next destination as a collegian.

Through three outings as a starter this season for the 3-0 Huskies, Khamenia is averaging 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists across his 18.7 minutes per game. However, keep in mind that those numbers are skewed by the fact that he had to exit Monday night's contest early with the injury.

He and reserve guard Darren Harris, who is now a junior and shining in a starting role for the unranked Indiana Hoosiers, were the only members of last season's Duke basketball squad who entered the transfer portal.