Duke center Kyle Filipowski had to be helped to the locker room as Wake Forest fans collided with him while storming the court following their 83-79 upset of the sixth-ranked Blue Devils.
It happened as the clock reached zero as Duke failed to muster a last-ditch attempt to score before the clock ran out. Filipowski had no chance to avoid the Demon Deacon fans as they rushed to center court. From the video, it appears that multiple fans made contact with him as they ran by, with at least one of the collisions resulting in injury to Filipowski.
Wake Forest storms the court after knocking off #8 Duke
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 24, 2024
It appears Kyle Filipowski may have been hurt in the court storming…
pic.twitter.com/i4vb6unTgf
Filipowski had to be surrounded by teammates to protect him from further injury, and Duke staff led him the rest of the way to the locker room as he hobbled off the court.
We know opposing fans like to celebrate beating Duke, especially at home. One NC State fan stormed the court in a wheelchair back in 2013 after a Duke upset. Unfortunately, court storming also puts people at risk for injury, especially players and coaches who can get trapped in the middle of it, as was the case with Duke players today.
No word yet as to the seriousness of Filipowski's injury and we hope he will be OK. However, if ever there was an argument to ban court storming by fans, this could easily become Exhibit A.
UPDATE: Here is an overhead angle of the fan colliding with Filipowski as he tried to protect himself.
Alternate angle of Duke’s Kyle Filipowski getting injured in today’s court storming. Hoping it’s not serious.
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 24, 2024
pic.twitter.com/IsMr2TujJh
Early word from Duke head coach Jon Scheyer is that Filipowski has a sprained ankle.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
