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Blue Devils Race Past the Pride 89-68; Filipowski Scores 28; 19 for Roach; 13 for McCain

By December 13, 2023No Comments

It was easy for Duke fans to dismiss a 6-3 Hofstra team coming into Cameron Indoor Stadium simply because they aren’t a Power 5 team. Just a little bit of digging, number crunching and research would have shown them that this team and their lineup of guards are something to be reckoned with. Hofstra’s 6-3 guard Tyler Thomas, who registered 29 points in the Pride’s last contest at Saint Louis and 40 points earlier this season versus High Point (Nov. 22), is the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 23.6 points per game, and is the national leader in 3-point field goals per game (4.33). While the Blue Devils would walk away with the win 89-68 it was not an easy win.

Hofstra, on the strength of Darlinstone Dubar’s hot shooting and Duke subpar defense early, held a lead on the Blue Devils as late as 2:30 left in the first quarter. A layup from sophomore Kyle Filipowski tied the game at the 2:28 mark and sent the Blue Devils on a 9-2 run to end the half. The Blue Devils took a 44-39 lead into the half.

Jacco Fritz started the second half scoring with a 3 to draw the Pride within 3 points before Duke went on a 37-18 run to push their lead to 22 and eventually a 21 point victory.

Led by Sophomore Kyle Filipowski, who arguably had his best game as a Blue Devil posting 28 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, the Blue Devils offense looked a lot more fluid. The Blue Devils posted 22 assists on 33 made baskets with 2 players (Roach & Filipowski) posting 8 assists each.

The Blue Devils utilized some different lineups and also utilized some players in different ways – those tweaks to the lineup seemed to pay dividends for Jon Scheyer.

Coach Scheyer also ran actions to utilize Mark Mitchell as a screener that opened him up to be a playmaker in the paint, the result was some good and quick decision making by the sophomore that led to both good drives to the basket and in some cases some extra passing leading to open shots.

The most important factor was that the ball rarely stuck and Duke hunted the open shot and were an unselfish unit. The Blue Devils shot 50% from the 3-point line and didn’t force shots or settle, the majority of the shots were both in rhythm and came from inside out passing. Overall the Blue Devils shot 55.0 % from the field and a much improved 85.7% from the free throw line.

The only point of concern for the Blue Devils was on the defensive end where in the first half they were caught several times giving up open corner 3’s to Darlinstone Dubar, who burned Duke for 24 points going 7-11 from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils did a much better job after the break limiting those open looks as the the Pride went from shooting 46% from beyond the arc to 36% while the Blue Devils held at 50% in both halves.

Jeremy Roach scored 19 points hitting 3-5 of his 3-point attempts and going 7-11 overall continuing his torrid pace over the last 5 games. Roach as posted 18 points or more over the stretch and is shooting 61% from beyond the arc. Mark Mitchell scored 14 points but left a lot at the rim, still struggling to find his shot from beyond the arc but also inexplicably missing an inordinate amount of layups. Still, it was a strong active effort from the sophomore who is still looking for consistency. Dukes pair for freshman guards shot a combined 4-6 from beyond the arc with Jared McCain going 5-8 overall from the field scoring 13 points, and Caleb Foster adding 9 points and 4 rebounds in this second straight start.

Notes

  • he Blue Devils shot 18-of-29 (.621) from the field in the first half – the best shooting clip by the Blue Devils in the first half this season, surpassing their 17-of-29 (.586) showing against Dartmouth in the season opener on Nov. 6.
  • Duke’s defense held Hofstra to 68 points, 12.4 points below its season scoring average of 80.4. The Blue Devils have now held each of their ten opponents below their respective scoring average.
  • As a team, Duke held Hofstra to 0 second-chance points through the full 40 minutes. The Blue Devils have accomplished this feat three times through 10 games so far this season. The last time a Duke team did so prior to this year was at least the 2008-09 season.
  • Through the last three games, Duke opponents have scored a total of four second-chance points.
  • As a team, the Blue Devils dished out 22 assists on 33 made field goals.
  • Saturday afternoon marked the 513th consecutive game at Cameron Indoor Stadium that was sold out. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 6, 1990, against Boston College.
  • The streak is the longest current (by time) in either men’s college basketball or the NBA.
  • Duke has now connected on at least one three-pointer in 1,199 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally.
  • Kyle Filipowski poured in 17 first-half points, the most by a Blue Devil in a first half this season, eclipsing Mark Mitchell’s 16 first-half points versus Bucknell on Nov. 17.
  • The sophomore finished the game with a season-high 28 points, shooting 10-of-16 (.625) from the field – including 4-of-7 (.571) from beyond the arc.
  • The four triples matched Filipowski’s single-game career-high, which he most recently accomplished against Pittsburgh on March 9, 2023.
  • Tuesday night marked his fifth game this season with at least 20 points and 11th in his career – when Filipowski scores 20 or more points, the Blue Devils are 8-3.
  • Filipowski added 12 boards and a career-high eight assists, securing his 19th career double-double and third this season. He finished just two dimes shy of the first Duke triple-double since Wendell Moore Jr., who tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Army on Nov. 12, 2021.
  • According to College Basketball Reference, Filipowski is the first Blue Devil since at least the 2010-11 season to log a stat line of at least 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and the only ACC player to do so in the same time span.
  • Jeremy Roach tallied 19 points on a 7-of-11 (.636) performance from the field and went 3-of-5 (.600) from long distance.
  • Duke is now 10-2 all-time when Roach makes three or more three-pointers.
  • Roach added a season-high eight assists with zero turnovers. Spanning the last four games, the senior has 19 assists and just two turnovers – good for a 9.5 assist-turnover ratio.
  • Roach and Filipowski became the first Blue Devil duo to each finish with eight or more assists since Roach and Moore did so against Syracuse on Jan. 22, 2022.

Quotes


DUKE HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER

Opening Statement:

“Proud of that. I thought they [Hofstra] came out and were on fire there for a bit in the first half. They are incredibly well coached, a ton of respect for Speedy [Claxton] and their staff. They run great stuff offensively. The have some dynamic scorers. [Tyler] Thomas can really score, [Darlinstone] Dubar has a big-time game with seven threes and five in the first half. Some of those were tough shots and some of those we could have done better. I just like the response from our team. I thought we had great leadership tonight. I thought Jeremy [Roach] was in great control of the game. His stats were great with 19 points and eight assists, but for me it was just his command, his poise, and the way he looked throughout: never rattled. He has really stepped-up big time for us. Then, to see Flip [Kyle Filipowski] that way, two assists away from a triple double. He is just a force and they had to double, when they didn’t, he really attacked the basket hard. Mark [Mitchell] did not finish as much, but Mark had some great moments. He is close, I’m telling you, Mark is so close to having just some big-time games, and he’s right there. I love what our vets did. The guard play with Caleb [Foster], Jared [McCain], Jaylen [Blakes] is a team effort. We switched a little bit how we played defense, they spread you so much that we end up switching a lot. I thought we moved our feet well, limited their threes, and to hold a team like Hofstra, who averages 80 a game, to 29 points in the second half, thought that it was really good.”

On what these last two games have shown about this team:

“We have played two really good teams in Charlotte and Hofstra. We just want to take a step forward, and of course you want that to translate to winning. For me, it is not just about winning; it is about how we played, it is about how we competed, and about how we prepare. After the last game I told our team, the blueprint is set. The blueprint is set after these last two games. You have to continue to adjust and adapt to who you’re playing and what the game plan is, but in terms of the preparation, the collective effort, the fight, tonight was great. We did not have it perfect for us in the first half; for them to take the lead and for us to respond, that was great. It was great for this team to go through that first half.”

On the focus required to execute and defend against Hofstra:

“[Hofstra] makes you play very disciplined. If you put two on the ball at any situation – if you come over to help – they are going to find the open player, and everybody on the court, besides their bigs – [Jacco] Fritz will shoot a three, but that’s not what he does – will shoot them. I thought we had great discipline starting with controlling the ball. I thought our pressure throughout, even though we did not pressure to get steals, I thought our pressure wore on them. Our four guards just continued to pick up full court and got in their legs, which is great. Then, keeping the ball front and staying discipline, knowing when to help and when to stay at home.”

On the continual effort on team rebounding:

“Rebounding is all about grit. It is all about fight. It is all about doing it together. Even if you’re blocking out a bigger guy, we have talked about how you do not even have to get the rebound, just block out and then your teammates are going to have your back. I have to watch the film, but I thought there may be three or four of those tonight where the guy that started the block out did not get the ball and somebody else did because he put his body on the line. That is a big thing.”

SENIOR GUARD JEREMY ROACH

“Hofstra’s a good team. They’re an NCAA Tournament team, a team that you might see in the first round or second round. They’re averaging 80 points [per game] and they were hitting some tough shots in the first half. We just wanted to sustain our pressure, sustain our defense. We were making them take tough shots. We knew they couldn’t sustain that for 40 minutes and we just kind of wanted to keep the pressure up on them.” “I think we’re growing right now. I think the week before last, we kind of took some steps back, but the last week, the week of preparation that we had, just kind of finding our identity – I think it just starts with that. We’ve just got to keep it going.”


On Duke’s next matchup, playing against Baylor at Madison Square Garden in New York City:

“Duke loves playing at MSG. That’s been a staple for them throughout the history of Duke. We’ve just got to go out there and put on a show. Duke fans are crazy. They travel. Every time we’re at MSG, we kind of see the whole place filled up with that Duke blue, so the energy’s always there. Madison Square Garden, you know how it gets, the Mecca of New York, so it’s going to be something special.”


SOPHOMORE CENTER KYLE FILIPOWSKI

When asked if he was aware toward the end of the game how close he was to a triple-double:

“Yeah, I was trying to tell Coach [Jon Scheyer] to leave me in the last two minutes to accomplish it, but all he told me was that I was closer to a quadruple-double with turnovers. He humbled me real quick.”


When asked what the message from Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was at the under-4:00 media timeout in the first half:

“It was just [about] winning these last four minutes – I think it was like three and a half [minutes] – and getting the stops. We need to keep getting better at finishing out the first half strong, and we actually did that this time, and it gave us a good little boost going into the second half.”


On his offensive mindset tonight:

“I think it’s really just reading what the defense is giving me, just coming out with energy, no matter if I’m getting the ball early or not. I think just coming in with an optimistic attitude is really what pays off for my teammates, for me, all of that. I was just putting in the work and the ball was falling for me tonight, which is good.”


On Hofstra only having two offensive rebounds and no second-chance points, even against a Duke lineup that often had four guards on the floor:

“That’s something we’ve been emphasizing all year with our defense – guard rebounding, especially when we go four guards. That could definitely be a weak spot, but we’ve been working on that, making sure that we don’t let that give us any disadvantages while playing it.”

“I think it’s been a great two last games, especially coming off of those back-to-back losses. I think we just need to keep that same mindset going, keep going into next week. We could very easily get satisfied and go away from what we’ve been doing well, but we need to definitely prioritize being selfless with each other, doing the right things, because when we do that, we’re the best team in the country.”