Tampa Bay WR Antonio Brown takes subtle shot at Kyle Filipowski as NC State thrashes Duke in 74-69 matchup: "Thought #30 died in that court storming?"
Duke center Kyle Filipowski registered 28 points, 14 rebounds and one assist in the Blue Devils' 74-69 upset loss to the NC State Wolfpack during the ACC quarterfinal clash.
The No. 2 seeded Blue Devils were highly favored to progress from the matchup after beating the same opponent 79-64 a few weeks ago.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown mocked Kyle Filipowski after Thursday's loss on his X account.
He referenced the court-storming incident a few weeks ago when Duke lost to Wake Forest, and fans stormed the court, apparently injuring Filipowski, who complained about it later.
"Thought #30 died in that court storming?" Brown wrote.
Kyle Filipowski warns teammates
Kyle Filipowski is having a rather controversial 2023-24 season, being involved in the court-storming incident and, a few weeks later, being implicated for tripping North Carolina State forward Harrison Ingram.
He has been Duke's most consistent performer, averaging 17.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season.
Filipowski was in last season's Blue Devils squad that lost in the second round of the Big Dance after entering the tournament as one of the favorites on the back of 10 consecutive wins, only to lose 65-52 to the Tennessee Volunteers.
After the game against the NC State Wolfpack, he had a word of warning for his teammates, harkening back to that second-round loss.
“NC State wanted it more than us,” Filipowski said. “I think that was kind of the biggest thing. We, this postseason, I mean, just speaking back to Tennessee last year, they wanted it more than us. These teams are so different in the postseason.
“There’s still another level to it in the postseason, and we got to learn, we got to be one of those teams. We can’t expect to win. We can’t be entitled. We’ve had a really good year, but that doesn’t mean anything now. I think just overall as a group, we’ve got to want it more than the other team. Because if not, then it’s gonna be the same situation.”
Duke coach Jon Scheyer singled out Kyle Filipowski and center Mark Mitchell (18 points, eight rebounds) for praise during his postgame news conference.
"I think both these guys were big-time competitors today, they almost willed us to win the game," Scheyer said. "They're playing a lot of minutes. Combined, they have 46 [points] and 22 [rebounds]. But I just thought they had the will to win, which is what you need, but we didn't have that collectively."
Kyle Filipowski and his team barely have room for error, as the Big Dance does not yield second chances.