3 Big Observations From Duke's Dominant Win Over Louisville
By Joe Summers
Duke bounced back from a tight loss to Wake Forest with a dominant 84-59 performance against the woeful Louisville Cardinals, pulling back within a game of North Carolina for the ACC lead with three left to play.
The Blue Devils take on Virginia and NC State before a home showdown with the Tar Heels to close the regular season, giving Duke an opportunity to at least tie for a conference championship. Kyle Filipowski returned without much trouble and the offense was firing on all cylinders, though Louisville is the worst team in the ACC by a wide margin.
You're supposed to beat up on bad teams and that's exactly what the Blue Devils did. With another home contest slated for Saturday against the Cavaliers, here's a look at three big observations from the comfortable win:
3 Big Observations From Duke's Win Over Louisville
1. Kyle Filipowski Looked Great Despite Knee Soreness
There were questions about Filipowski's status after he was hobbled during Wake Forest's court-storming bonanza on Saturday, but the star played 29 efficient minutes and didn't appear to have any lingering effects.
He finished with nine points on 50% shooting, 10 rebounds, six assists and a block, though he was a bit sloppy with four turnovers and fouls. Duke dominated the glass, out-rebounding Louisville 43-24, and Filipowski was the biggest reason why.
Averaging 16.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, Filipowski's improvement as a facilitator and defender gives the Blue Devils a real chance to win the NCAA Tournament. He's nearly doubled his assists per game average while notching 1.6 blocks and a steal per contest, showcasing a finer understanding buoyed by becoming a legitimate three-point threat as well.
Louisville is a horrendous defensive team, ranking 344th in opponent effective field goal percentage (54.2%), but Filipowski's performance was impressive either way.
He's got 15 assists in his last three games, allowing Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell more space to operate. That's a major development for the Blue Devils' outlook moving forward.