After two confident wins, Duke heads to Dallas to take on the Sweet 16 and potentially Elite 8 rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Blue Zone looks at the key player for the Blue Devils in their hopes to reach the program’s 18th Final Four:
Duke: Kyle Filipowski
With two games down and four to go in March Madness, center Kyle Filipowski has a chance to cap off his Duke career with his best performances yet. The Westtown, N.Y., native has averaged 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season, all while acting as the Blue Devils’ de facto center despite being more confident at the four. For his strong production, the sophomore earned All-ACC First Team and consensus All-American Second Team honors.
In a way, his high scoring load on the season has made his performances in this year’s NCAA tournament extremely unusual — but no less effective. Against Vermont in the Round of 64, the Westtown, N.Y., native, who averages just about 12 field-goal attempts per game on the season, only recorded a single shot attempt in 37 minutes of play. However, he found many ways to impact the game outside of scoring, recording 12 rebounds, four assists, a pair of steals and three blocks to help Duke secure a confident 17-point win. It is no wonder that Filipowski patted himself on the back after this contest, saying “I’m so happy with how I played.”
His next contest, a Round of 32 matchup against James Madison, also proved unusual in the box score for the Duke big man. Thanks in part to four fouls accrued, Filipowski only played 21 minutes as the Blue Devils beat the Dukes by 38 points. However, he went 6-of-8 from the field to score 14 points, adding four assists and two steals in the process. Overall, the sophomore boasts a combined plus-minus of +37 in two tournament games this season, showing his effectiveness with a lower scoring burden.
Duke’s Sweet 16 matchup against No. 1-seed Houston will be a critical test of Filipowski’s skills on both offense and defense. He is likely to be matched up against Cougar forward Ja’Vier Francis, who has averaged 1.6 blocks per game, recording four in Houston’s overtime victory against Texas A&M. While the 6-foot-8 Francis is not the scoring threat that the 7-foot Filipowski is, it will be crucial for the latter to best the former in the post on both ends of the floor, thus creating more scoring opportunities for the Blue Devils.
Should Duke emerge victorious against Houston, it will face either No. 2-seed Marquette, who boasts a formidable big in forward Oso Ighodaro, or No. 11-seed N.C. State, whose 6-foot-9, 260-pound DJ Burns has infamously caused Filipowski and the Blue Devils grief with his unique size and arsenal of post moves.
Filipowski will not get a choice on what comes next. For now, he’ll have to live up to his pedigree — with or without scoring — in order for Duke to overcome the mighty Cougars on its quest for a NCAA Championship.
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