James Madison's mascot takes shot at Duke's Kyle Filipowski with 'Kyle, why you trippin?' sign

Jacob Camenker

•
James Madison's mascot takes shot at Duke's Kyle Filipowski with 'Kyle, why you trippin?' sign image

Underdogs typically look to avoid giving bulletin board material to their opponents ahead of postseason matchups.

That didn't stop Duke the Dog from taking a shot at Kyle Filipowski during James Madison's NCAA Tournament matchup against Duke.

James Madison's mascot pulled out a sign early in the second-round March Madness game that simply said, "Kyle, why you trippin?' The sign was adorned with Filipowski's number and was prominently displayed on the CBS broadcast.

The sign, of course, is referencing a tripping incident from the Duke vs. UNC rivalry game on March 9 that involved Filipowski.

TSN's MARCH MADNESS HQ:
Live NCAA bracket news | TV schedule | Predictor tool

Kyle Filipowski's trip, explained

In that contest, Filipowski appeared to purposely trip Harrison Ingram as the UNC wing made his way up the floor.

The video showed Filipowski glancing back in Ingram's direction before the Blue Devil kicked his leg out to trip his opponent.

Filipowski wasn't called for a foul on the play and insisted after the game that his takedown was not intentional.

"I was really just getting up," Filipowski said. "My foot slipped. I don't know how I caught him. That's really all I've got."

MORE: Inside Kara Lawson's meteoric rise at Duke as women's program makes Sweet 16

"I didn't even know he was back with me," he added. "I thought I was the only one left [in the backcourt], but that's pretty much all I can remember."

Conversely, Ingram explained after the game that he believed Filipowski's move was intentional.

"I'm not sure if it was a basketball play or not," Ingram said.

Filipowski ultimately avoided being suspended for his actions, but it's clear that his opponents aren't letting him forget what happened.

FOLLOW LIVE: Duke faces James Madison with trip to Sweet 16 on the line

That said, Duke might get the last laugh over Duke the Dog. The Blue Devils jumped out to an early, double-digit lead in their NCAA Tournament game against James Madison. That puts them on track to knock out the No. 12 seed and end its Cinderella run.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.