Duke basketball mascot wears apt headband in Blue Devils’ win vs. Michigan State
CHICAGO – If ever there was a perfect headband for the Duke basketball mascot, it was Tuesday night at the United Center.
Three words were written on the athletic tape across the forehead of the Blue Devil: “Miss-Again State.”
Michigan State and Duke watched long-range shots bounce off all sides of the rims throughout the night, but the ninth-ranked Blue Devils left Chicago with a 74-65 win against the 18th-ranked Spartans in the State Farm Champions Classic.
Michigan State was 2-for-31 on 3-point attempts in its first two games and missed 11 of 13 shots from beyond the arc in the first half against Duke. The Blue Devils missed 16 of their 22 attempts from 3.
With the victory against the Spartans, Duke (2-1) avoided its first 1-2 start since the 1999-2000 season. Here are some things that stood out in the Blue Devils' 15th win in 19 games against Michigan State.
Duke basketball’s Caleb Foster comes alive
Each time Michigan State (1-2) cut into the lead, Caleb Foster responded with a back-breaking bucket. The Spartans started the second half on an 11-4 run to trim Duke’s lead to four points, but Foster snatched a defender with a nasty crossover and stepped into a 3-pointer that put the green-and-white clad fans back in their seats. After putting up a goose egg against Arizona, Foster finished with 18 points, including 16 in the second half, against the Spartans.
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Kyle Filipowski closes the door on Michigan State
It was a quiet night by Kyle Filipowski’s standards, but Duke’s sophomore star still finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Filipowski averaged 25 points and 7.5 rebounds across the first two games and helped the Blue Devils close the door on Michigan State down the stretch. His three-point play with six minutes left extended Duke’s lead to six, and the Spartans never got closer.
Mark Mitchell, Blue Devils finish strong in sloppy half
The first half was anything but classic as Duke and Michigan State combined for 19 turnovers and 37% shooting. But while the Spartans continue to chuck up shots from long range – despite all those misses – sophomore Mark Mitchell was in attack mode for the Blue Devils. He had 13 points.
Mitchell was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line and finished the first half with nine points. Trailing 15-14 with just over six minutes left, Duke outscored Michigan State 17-5 the rest of the way to take a 31-20 lead into halftime. That 11-point lead felt a lot bigger.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Caleb Foster on fire in Duke basketball's win vs. Michigan State
