Duke basketball's Kyle Filipowski battles nervous stomach in March Madness vs Oral Roberts

Duke freshman star and leading scorer Kyle Filipowski suffered a bout with nerves in the Blue Devils' NCAA Tournament opener against Oral Roberts on Thursday in Orlando, Florida.

As Duke jumped out to a 17-2 lead, Filipowski was seen throwing up behind Duke's bench about nine minutes into the first half during a timeout. Lauren Shehadi, CBS sideline reporter, said that she asked a Duke trainer, "Is it his stomach? Is he sick?"

"No, he's just nervous," was the trainer's reply, Shehadi said.

RECAP:Duke basketball opens March Madness with win against Oral Roberts in NCAA Tournament

PRESIDENTIAL PICK:Barack Obama bracket has Duke basketball winning 2023 March Madness

Filipowski and three other Duke starters were making their NCAA Tournament debut Thursday after Duke (26-8) qualified as a No. 5 seed in the East Region, with a first-round matchup against No. 12 Oral Roberts (30-4).

Filipowski came back into the game and finished the first half with two points, five rebounds and an assist in 15 minutes of playing time as Duke led 40-23 at halftime.

Thursday's scene wasn't the first time Filipowski has lost his lunch at a game this season.

In a Jan. 23 game against Virginia Tech, Filipowski went to the bench and puked after taking a punch to the throat.

"He was full-on throwing up and he wasn't about to be out for a second," Duke coach Jon Scheyer told the media after the game, which Duke lost 78-75. "He's a big-time warrior, man."

The punch was not intentional and happened when MJ Collins was celebrating an eventual game-winning shot with 13.6 seconds left in the game. The play was reviewed and no call was made.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball: Kyle Filipowski throws up during NCAA Tournament