Duke basketball will have star freshman available vs Notre Dame
.JPG "Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (30) defends the ball against Virginia’s Ben Vander Plas (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Mike Kropf)")
Despite suffering a sprained ankle three days ago, Duke freshman Kyle Filipowski will be available to play Tuesday night against Notre Dame.
Duke’s leading scorer this season at 14.8 points per game, the 7-foot Filipowski injured his ankle on the controversial final play of regulation during Virginia’s 69-62 overtime win over the Blue Devils on Saturday.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Monday that Filipowski was receiving treatment and would get an MRI exam to determine the extent of his ankle injury. But the school announced Tuesday that Filipowski was medically cleared to play against the Irish at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils (7-8, 8-6 ACC) have lost their last two games, the first time they’ve dropped consecutive games this season.
Attempting a dunk to win the game against Virginia on Saturday, Filipowski had his shot blocked by Virginia’s Reece Beekman while a second defender, Ryan Dunn, also defended and was called for a foul as time expired. The contact caused Filipowski to tumble to the court.
The officials looked at instant replay and then, in a breach of NCAA game management rules, waved off the foul. Instead of Filipowski getting two free throws with the score tied at 58, the game headed to overtime.
Filipowski continued to play on his sore ankle in overtime, where the Cavaliers pulled away to win. Filipowski turned in the first scoreless game of the season, missing all six of his field goal attempts. He also committed five turnovers.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 3:26 PM.