In the ACC, there are few things that matter more than physicality, toughness and what head coach Jon Scheyer called “winning plays” after his team’s 77-69 victory Monday night against up-and-coming Wake Forest. In the Blue Devils’ impressive performance, they proved the rule to be true as they overpowered the Demon Deacons on both ends of the floor, despite being comparatively undersized.
On the perimeter, Duke primarily plays three point guards alongside sophomore forward Mitchell and center Filipowski, both asked to defend opposing teams’ big men. With the lack of traditional wing options, Scheyer instead relies on his guards to play big, a role freshman point guard Jared McCain has taken in full stride.
“He's a guy that will do whatever it takes to win, at any cost,” Scheyer said. “We need guard rebounding, and Jared has just done such a good job.”
“He makes plays within the play,” Scheyer later added.
In four of his last five games, McCain tallied double-digit rebounds, including his 17-point, 10-board performance Monday.
“Jared’s probably the best guard rebounder I’ve seen,” Filipowski said.
After the game, McCain pointed to his high school coach and soccer legs as important parts of his rebounding recipe. To the naked eye, McCain enjoys his role on the defensive end just as much as he relishes the opportunity to knock down a transition triple.
“A want to get the rebound [is important],” McCain said. “I like when they try to box me out.”
Notably, Duke’s forward tandem took advantage of Wake Forest center Efton Reid III’s early foul trouble on both ends of the floor. Specifically, Mitchell tallied a career-tying 23 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting clip. Most impressive, however, was Mitchell’s efforts on the other end of the floor.
Tasked with guarding positions one through five, Mitchell helped Duke hold the Demon Deacons, the second-ranked offense in the conference, to 69 total points, their third-lowest offensive output of the ACC season.
“I’m asked to guard a lot of positions,” Mitchell said. “I just do what the team needs me to do.”
Mitchell’s 7-foot partner was an efficient 8-for-14, missing just one two-point attempt. Filipowski shot seven free throws and played his way to another necessary double-double performance, especially as Wake Forest looked to claw back late in the second half.
McCain, Mitchell and Filipowski played 38 minutes each and all three were on the court for the entirety of the second half. To say the least, their high-volume minutes weren’t optional as Duke looked to reach 10-3 in conference play.
“It's hard to stop Mark, Flip or any of those guys when they have it going,” Scheyer said. “They just did a great job for 40 minutes.”
Outside of Roach’s five straight points late in the second half, the late-game offense nearly entirely relied on the McCain-Mitchell-Filipowski trio, especially with Caleb Foster’s tough 0-of-4 shooting night and Tyrese Proctor seeing limited minutes after seemingly hitting his head on a hard fall.
“We feel we basically play five guards together,” Scheyer said. “Even though Flip is seven feet, he has a game like a guard. He shot six threes tonight, he's handling [and] he's passing. Mark, the same thing. He’s a guard.”
In Duke’s last high-profile matchup in Chapel Hill, Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram combined for 46 points and 23 rebounds — an interior performance that left some questioning the toughness of Filipowski and Mitchell.
For at least one night, that debate was put to bed Monday. Duke’s interior duo was excellent all game long, and along with McCain’s stellar play inside and out, the Blue Devils put together one of their best performances of this young season.
“I thought Mark and Flip were men,” Scheyer said. “Anybody who doubts their toughness, they don't know Mark Mitchell, they don’t know Kyle Filipowski.”
With two of its next three games against quad-one opponents, including a trip to Winston Salem, N.C., against a Demon Deacon team that will be hungry for revenge, Duke must continue to play up to its opponents’ level of physicality. Monday told us that McCain, Mitchell and Filipowski will be up to the challenge.
The one remaining question: will the rest of the squad?
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