Wake Forest did everything necessary Saturday to take a major step toward earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament, a moment that sent its celebrating fans running onto the court as the clock hit zero.
That moment of exuberance left Duke star Kyle Filipowski limping after a collision with a fan, reigniting discussions about the dangers of storming the court and overshadowing the glow of the Demon Deacons' 83-79 victory against the Blue Devils, eighth classified.
The 7-foot man was limping when he appeared to hit his right leg against the leg of a fan running next to him. Filipowski, who had raised his arms as if preparing for a possible collision, lost his balance and ended up hugging a manager and teammate, Stanley Borden, to ask for help getting to the locker room tunnel amid the chaos.
Filipowski, who said he injured his knee in the collision, believes the contact was intentional.
“It's really ridiculous how that situation is handled,” Filipowski told WFMY News after the game. “I absolutely feel like it was personal. Intentional, for sure. Like I said, there's no reason why they see a big guy like me trying to make his way off the court and they can't just avoid me, you know? There's no excuse for that.”
He later posted a short message on his X account saying “this has to change.”
This has to change…
-Kyle “Flip” Filipowski (@kylefilipowski) February 24, 2024
Duke coach Jon Scheyer expressed displeasure with the court assault and called for it to be banned.
“When are we going to ban breaking into the courts?” Scheyer asked the media. “When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something, where they get hit, pushed or mocked right in the face? It's a dangerous thing.
“You look around the country. Caitlin Clark, something happens. And now Flip, I don't know what his condition is going to be. He sprains his ankle. It's one thing, like when I played, at least it was 10 seconds. And you storm the court. Now “The bell doesn't even ring and they're running down the field. This has happened to a lot of us this year.”
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes agreed with Scheyer: Court assaults should not be allowed.
“I didn't see what happened at the end. I hope he's okay,” Forbes said. “I don't like court raids. I've never liked them. I've been a part of them before. They just don't feel safe.”
On Saturday night, Wake Forest athletic director John Currie released a statement saying he had expressed “regret” for the incident to Duke AD Nina King, as well as ACC senior associate commissioner Paul Brazeau.
“While our event management and security staff had rehearsed post-game procedures to protect the visiting team and officials, we clearly must do better,” Currie said.
The ACC followed up later Saturday with its own statement from commissioner Jim Phillips, who called the safety of the conference's student-athletes “always our top priority.”
“We have been and will continue to be in contact with both Duke and Wake Forest regarding what happened after today's game,” the statement said. “Across college athletics, we have seen too many of these incidents that put people at serious risk, and it will take the cooperation of everyone, including spectators, to ensure everyone's well-being. As a conference, we will continually evaluate with our schools the best way to protect our student-athletes, coaches and fans.”
ACC schools do not have a fine structure or disciplinary measures in place for when fans rush onto the court, according to information provided to ESPN. Each school manages its own events. There are some conference requirements to keep officials and visiting teams safe and help them get off the court.
Filipowski scored 17 points to lead the Blue Devils (21-6, 12-4 ACC).
Hunter Sallis capped the game with two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to start the celebration for the Demon Deacons (18-9, 10-6). Andrew Carr scored 16 of his 18 points after halftime, including dominant stretches after the break in which the Demon Deacons fed him to ease out of the post or score on Mark Mitchell inside.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
