Duke is going to the Elite Eight.

The Blue Devils punched their ticket to the next round with a win over Houston on Friday night in the Sweet 16. Duke was led by Kyle Filipowski, who contributed 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in the win.

Duke will meet ACC foe NC State in the Elite Eight with a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2022. The 11th-seeded Wolfpack have been the biggest surprise of the Tournament so far this season and continued their run with an upset win over Marquette earlier in the night.

Here are 3 takeaways from Duke’s win:

Kyle Filipowski controlled the game

Filipowski controlled this game nearly from start to finish with his scoring, rebounding in passing. He led Duke in the former 2 categories and was also excellent as a distributor on Friday night despite only ending up with 2 dimes.

Filipowski made 3-of-5 3-point attempts and was also Duke’s best shooter on the night. As a team, the Blue Devils made 6-of-17 shots from deep. Filipowski was the only Duke player to drain multiple 3-pointers in this contest.

He also had an impact on the defensive end of the floor as he helped limit Houston to 42% shooting on the night.

Duke’s defense stepped up

Duke’s first-half defense was excellent. The Cougars shot just 34.5% from the field before the break and went into the locker room down 23-22. In the second half, Houston’s offense woke up a little bit and hit 50% of its field goal attempts.

However, the damage was mitigated because Duke forced 6 second-half turnovers. Houston only attempted 20 shots in the second half — partially due to a slow tempo, but also because of the Blue Devils’ stingy defense that forced Houston into longer possessions.

Tyrese Proctor led the team with 3 steals, all of which came in the second half.

A golden opportunity awaits

Duke will now head to the Elite Eight where it will find a familiar foe in NC State.

The Wolfpack are here, in-part, because they’ve already upset Duke once this month. NC State defeated the Blue Devils in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament back on March 14. A win in that game would have ended NC State’s season — it was nowhere near consideration for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, the Wolfpack have just kept winning. Following their victory over Marquette on Friday, NC State has won 8 straight games.

NC State is clearly a threat worth taking seriously at this point in the season, but it’s hard to ask for a better path to the Final Four if you’re Duke. Facing an 11-seed in the Elite Eight is close to an ideal scenario on its own — let alone an 11-seed that you beat by 15 points on the road earlier this season. Fans who are interested in betting on this game can sign up for one of Saturday Down South’s recommended mobile betting apps.

A game time for Duke vs. NC State will be announced at a later date.