This afternoon, it's the Championship Game of the 2022 Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, matching the #24th ranked Purdue Boilermakers and the #8th ranked Duke Blue Devils. Purdue is coming off an impressive upset of Gonzaga on Friday night while Duke defeated Xavier. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm (Eastern time) in the Moda Center with television coverage on ABC. Purdue is 4-3 all-time versus Duke, but the two schools haven't met since the South Regional Semi-Final game in the 2010 NCAA tournament, where Duke eliminated Purdue and went on to win the NCAA Title.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Duke - Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski, Dereck Lively, Tyrese Proctor, and Jeremy Roach
Purdue - Mason Gillis, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
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For Duke, freshman center Kyle Filipowsk provides a versatile with both size and skill. He is able to stretch the floor and also attack the glass. Filipowski averages 15.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. In the opening game win over Oregon State, he had up 19 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman Mark Mitchell is an athletic, combo forward that plays a tough game. Mitchell has a good feel for the game with a quick first step to beat defenders and has the ability to make plays off the dribble. Mitchell is logging 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. In his last game, he dropped 16 points and five boards. Duke's backcourt has been a little up and down, but they have the advantage on paper - and the Blue Devils usually go how Jeremy Roach goes. If Purdue can contain him, that will certainly help the Boilers' chances.
The Boilers have scored over 80 points in each of the first two games of the tournament. On Friday night, Purdue showed off its defense against the highly efficient Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga shot just 40% from the field, nearly 10% below their season average. Along the way, they only allowed Gonzaga and it's inside the paint offense to take four free throws total in the game. Meanwhile, Purdue had 22 FT attempts, knocking down 16.
Purdue faced one of its toughest opponents on offense in the last game with Gonzaga. Today, the Boilers will be facing the most stout defense they've seen in the tournament. Duke's defense has held the opposition to under 40% all season. This will be a good test of the Blue Devils' ability to protect the paint as expect Purdue to continue to feature Zach Edey in the paint. With Filipowski, Dereck Lively II, and Ryan Young. Duke will certainly try to wear down/disrupt Zach Edey and force some mistakes or get him into foul trouble.
Purdue did a better job Friday with the turnovers compared to the opener against West Virginia......they'll need more of the same today, and they will have to match Duke on the glass. It will need to be another all-hands-on-deck effort from the Boilers to come out on top with this one.....they'll get their opportunities to knock down some shots, and they'll need to convert much like they did in the second half against Gonzaga.
All in all, this will be another stern challenge for this relatively young Purdue team. Can they keep their surprising run going? We shall see a little later on this afternoon.
Boiler up, my friends.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Duke - Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski, Dereck Lively, Tyrese Proctor, and Jeremy Roach
Purdue - Mason Gillis, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
_______________________________________________________
For Duke, freshman center Kyle Filipowsk provides a versatile with both size and skill. He is able to stretch the floor and also attack the glass. Filipowski averages 15.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. In the opening game win over Oregon State, he had up 19 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman Mark Mitchell is an athletic, combo forward that plays a tough game. Mitchell has a good feel for the game with a quick first step to beat defenders and has the ability to make plays off the dribble. Mitchell is logging 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. In his last game, he dropped 16 points and five boards. Duke's backcourt has been a little up and down, but they have the advantage on paper - and the Blue Devils usually go how Jeremy Roach goes. If Purdue can contain him, that will certainly help the Boilers' chances.
The Boilers have scored over 80 points in each of the first two games of the tournament. On Friday night, Purdue showed off its defense against the highly efficient Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga shot just 40% from the field, nearly 10% below their season average. Along the way, they only allowed Gonzaga and it's inside the paint offense to take four free throws total in the game. Meanwhile, Purdue had 22 FT attempts, knocking down 16.
Purdue faced one of its toughest opponents on offense in the last game with Gonzaga. Today, the Boilers will be facing the most stout defense they've seen in the tournament. Duke's defense has held the opposition to under 40% all season. This will be a good test of the Blue Devils' ability to protect the paint as expect Purdue to continue to feature Zach Edey in the paint. With Filipowski, Dereck Lively II, and Ryan Young. Duke will certainly try to wear down/disrupt Zach Edey and force some mistakes or get him into foul trouble.
Purdue did a better job Friday with the turnovers compared to the opener against West Virginia......they'll need more of the same today, and they will have to match Duke on the glass. It will need to be another all-hands-on-deck effort from the Boilers to come out on top with this one.....they'll get their opportunities to knock down some shots, and they'll need to convert much like they did in the second half against Gonzaga.
All in all, this will be another stern challenge for this relatively young Purdue team. Can they keep their surprising run going? We shall see a little later on this afternoon.
Boiler up, my friends.
