Kyle Filipowski's near-perfect night leads No. 11 Duke to 75-53 win over Pitt
When he gets it going, Kyle Filipowski can be borderline unguardable.
The Duke sophomore center's impeccable footwork can make it tough to stay in front of him in the block. His passing makes opponents pay for double teams. His improved 3-point stroke means you can't leave him alone when he steps outside.
All of it Filipowski's considerable tools were on display in a decidedly easy 75-53 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. Filipowski finished with 26 points on 11 of 12 shooting and chipped in 10 rebounds as the 11th-ranked Blue Devils (12-3, 3-1 ACC) won their seventh straight.
"He's a difference maker when he plays that way for our team, it totally changes the dynamic for our offense, our defense," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said of Filipowski. "I don't think there's anybody like him in the country when he plays that way."
Pitt (10-6, 1-4) certainly didn't have an answer. The Panthers forced Filipowski into a rare mistake in the opening moments when a double team led to a turnover, one of the few miscues by Filipowski and the Blue Devils on a night in which they did pretty much whatever they wanted while building a 25-point halftime lead.
"I thought we got some good looks early," Panthers head coach Jeff Capel said. "We missed some. They didn't miss anything. ... Sometimes you have a game like this. You have to learn from it and get better."
Jared McCain added 12 points for Duke and Caleb Roach had eight points and seven assists for the Blue Devils, who appear to be finding their form after back-to-back losses to Arkansas and Georgia Tech shortly after Thanksgiving. Duke's average margin of victory during its current winning streak is 20 points.
Scheyer praised his team's defense, which held Pitt to 33% (19 of 58) shooting. Panthers freshman guard Bub Carrington finished 4 of 16 from the field and missed his first 10 shots as McCain, Roach and Jeremy Foster among others made it difficult for him to get into a rhythm.
"I thought our guards did a really good job defending the ball but (Carrington) also missed some shots," Scheyer said. "I thought it was the best we defended the perimeter."
Zack Austin led Pitt with 11 points but the Panthers — who are off to a rough start while trying to reach the NCAA tournament for a second straight year — were never really in it.
The Blue Devils made nine 3s during the half while Pitt made just eight baskets total. At one point Duke drilled a 3-pointer on three consecutive trips in a variety of ways — in transition, out of an offensive set and by making an extra pass out of a double team — and the Panthers simply couldn't keep up no matter what combination Capel threw on the floor.
Capel borrowed a saying from his late father, longtime college and NBA coach Jeff Capel II, who would often tell his son that sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.
"Today we were the bug, we got splattered all over the windshield," the younger Capel said, before adding the moral of the story. "He'd say regardless of what happens, you have to wipe that (stuff) off and keep going."
BIG PICTURE
Duke: The Blue Devils showed a little bit of everything while making 11 3-pointers and outscoring the Panthers 32-12 in the paint. If Duke can maintain that kind of balance going forward, they're going to be right there at the end in what could be a tight ACC race.
Pitt: The Panthers were hoping to take another step forward after returning to March Madness last spring for the first time in seven years. Time is running out after four losses in their first five conference games.
UP NEXT
Duke: Will try to get revenge on the Yellow Jackets, who visit Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Pitt: Has a week off before welcoming Syracuse on Jan. 16. The Orange won the first meeting between the teams 81-73 at the Carrier Dome on Dec. 30.
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