After each Duke men's basketball game this season, check back here for the Player of the Game and more. The Blue Devils returned home Saturday, defeating Georgia Tech 84-79, and the Blue Zone is here to break down the close victory:
One player: Kyle Filipowski
After coming off a dominant 26-point performance against Pittsburgh in Duke’s 75-53 away victory, Filipowski delivered once more. The sophomore center scored a career-high 30 points and played 37 out of the 40 minutes in the game. Additionally, Filipowski carried added responsibility as he was the only non-guard placed into Duke’s starting lineup. The center led the team in rebounds and ended the game with only two personal fouls. The 7-footer has shown that he can be the Blue Devils’ best scorer, but has displayed periods of inconsistency throughout the season. For example, take his seven points and six rebounds against Notre Dame that was followed by his masterclass in Pittsburgh. Against Georgia Tech at home, Filipowski again confirmed that he can be the star big that Duke needs him to be. Apart from subpar free-throw shooting, there isn’t much more that could have been said to criticize Filipowski’s performance. No. 30’s 30-point night aided the Blue Devils in defending their current ranking and their quest to the top of the ACC, and Duke will continue to look to the Preseason ACC Player of the Year to lead the offense through conference play.
One word: Serviceable
Duke walked off of Coach K Court with a victory, but at times, the matchup against the Blue Devils’ unranked ACC opponent felt too close for comfort. After starting with an already shorthanded Duke team with sophomore forward Mark Mitchell sitting out with a knee injury, head coach Jon Scheyer was forced to substitute senior captain Jeremy Roach out of the game after an apparent knee injury. The Blue Devils shot 47.6% from three and had significantly less turnovers than their opponents, but Georgia Tech led the game in blocks and rebounds. Whether it be the Yellow Jackets' effective shooting streaks or Kowacie Reeves Jr. 's impressive poster over graduate center Ryan Young, there were several moments throughout the matchup that had Duke shaken up. The No. 11 Blue Devils did not earn a comfortable win by any means, but a serviceable performance allowed them to augment their win streak to eight and improve their conference record to 4-1.
One stat: Georgia Tech's 54.5 field-goal percentage
The Yellow Jackets and the Blue Devils were neck-and-neck deep into the second half, and it started to seem that Georgia Tech’s flaming upset against Duke a month ago could be recreated. Much of the Yellow Jackets’ success up to that point could be attributed to their impressive 54.5% field-goal rate and the 55% 3-point percentage that accompanied it. Georgia Tech’s top three scorers each scored more than 15 points and combined 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets had an anomaly of a shooting night which forced the Blue Devils to leave their foot on the gas for the entirety of the match, but with a little help from a packed Cameron Indoor crowd, the Yellow Jackets' sharpshooting night was achieved to no avail.
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