Duke vs Michigan State: 3 keys to watch in 2023 Champions Classic matchup

Michigan State’s plans to defend Duke’s star big man

Kyle Filipowski was viewed as one of the few players who could compete with Purdue’s Zach Edey for National Player of the Year. With a pair of 25-point games to start out the season, the sophomore forward is out to a good start. That leaves the question for Michigan State of how to deal with him.

Even without Jaxon Kohler available, the Spartans do have some options to throw at Filipowski, based on the lineups. Mady Sissoko is the starting center and he has had some good games in the past against quality big men. He also can be an offensive liability and not be able to move out on the perimeter against bigs that can stretch the floor. Carson Cooper is the more physical big man at 6’11 and 230 pounds but he doesn’t score and even Filipowski could be too much for him.

Malik Hall may have to deal with the star Blue Devil whenever Ryan Young is on the floor in big lineups but as we saw in the Arizona matchup, that could be detrimental more for Duke than Michigan State since their own offensive lineups tended to be clunky.

But one unique option could be Xavier Booker, the five-star freshman big man that has played just 22 combined minutes. He has plenty of talent and could be a future NBA prospect but Coach Tom Izzo sems to be wanting to bring him along slowly. And that could means fewer minutes in this game. But without an ideal matchup for Filipowski, does Michigan State throw him into the preverbal fire?