The Blue Devils will be hosting North Carolina in its final regular season game in Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday. Ahead of the matchup, the Blue Zone brings you two players to look out for in the historic battle of the blue:
Duke: Kyle Filipowski
Who else but sophomore Kyle Filipowski to lead Duke to a win in Cameron Indoor against North Carolina? After the squad’s uncharacteristic away performance against the Tar Heels during its first matchup in February, the 7-foot center’s defense will be paramount to shutting down senior center Armando Bacot from successfully penetrating the paint.
In the early minutes of the teams’ first meeting of the season, Filipowski’s effort to stay out of foul trouble paved the way for Bacot to work the paint and stun Duke early, setting a dominating tone for the duration of the game. Filipowski averages 2.87 personal fouls per game, which has gotten him into early foul trouble, forcing him to make a number of prolonged exits this season. This recently caused him trouble on the road against North Carolina State, pressuring head coach Jon Scheyer to bench the center after playing a mere four minutes in the first half.
In order to give the Blue Devils the opportunity to regain their poise in Cameron Indoor, it will be key for the Westtown, N.Y., native to be meticulous in this balancing act to come out aggressively, but tactically on the defensive end. Balanced alongside Jared McCain’s 3-point shooting, Jeremy Roach’s veteran experience and Ryan Young’s hustle, Filipowski’s disciplined defense has the power to shut down the Tar Heels. But ultimately, the Blue Devils need their season-leading scorer (16.5 per game), rebounder (8.1) and blocker (1.6) to be assertive on both ends of the court.
North Carolina: RJ Davis
For the Tar Heels to sweep the series against Duke this season, senior guard RJ Davis will need to continue to be hot from 3-point land Saturday evening. Averaging a commanding 41.7% from downtown and leading the ACC with 21.5 points per game, the White Plains, N.Y., native has grown to be a main asset to the Tar Heels over his four years on the squad.
Ultimately, the trust that Davis is able to instill in his teammates with his offensive prowess enables the rest of the squad to focus their skills on other aspects of the game — Bacot on defending the paint, junior forward Harrison Ingram on producing turnovers and freshman guard Elliot Cadeau on dishing the ball to his teammates.
The senior dropped 42 points in a career-high performance against Miami and a 20-point performance versus Virginia Tech. However, Davis is just as much of an asset on the road as he is at home. The 6-foot guard has scored an average of 18.8 points on the road, shy of his 22.2 point average in the Dean Dome. Drawing on his veteran leadership versus Duke and the Cameron Crazies, Davis may play a pivotal role in paving the way for another possible North Carolina win against the Blue Devils.
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Abby Spiller is a Trinity junior and editor-in-chief of The Chronicle's 120th volume.