The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has just rung again, meaning it's time for another taking a look at who is rising and falling with their performances for Blue Devil sports teams. Each week The Blue Zone will look at whose stock is on the rise and whose stock has taken a hit from the week in the world of Duke athletics.
Bull Market—Trending Up
ACC conference restructuring: The first two weeks in ACC play have seen upsets and thrilling games, leaving just No. 2 Virginia and Syracuse unbeaten in league play after two full weeks. Louisville and Notre Dame are top-15 teams and have been in on the chaos early in conference play and there appears to be no end in sight for thrilling matchups with the Cardinals set to host Duke this weekend. Questions lingered about how the schedule would work out, but so far it looks like having the Blue Devils, Cavaliers, Louisville, Fighting Irish, Syracuse and North Carolina in the same league has positioned the ACC from a basketball standpoint for a strong run.
Bear Market—Trending Down
Duke basketball defense: The Blue Devils got away with defensive breakdowns earlier in the season because of sound interior defense and solid shot contesting on the perimeter, but Wake Forest and N.C. State showed Duke still has a long way to go to become a great defensive team. Demon Deacon forward Devin Thomas and Wolfpack reserve BeeJay Anya showed the danger of allowing consistent dribble penetration. And with more dangerous perimeter players from Miami and Louisville on the schedule for the Blue Devils this week, Duke cannot afford to wait to remedy its problems on that end of the court if it wants to get back on track.
The Blue Devils have had success starting Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones in the backcourt, but cannot afford to let elite guards get in a rhythm early against the under-sized duo.
Odds of predicting a perfect NCAA tournament bracket: Before Duke's loss, there was talk of the Blue Devils going undefeated. After watching Duke play on the road in ACC games—with contests at the Cardinals, Notre Dame, Virginia, Syracuse and North Carolina, not to mention a game in New York against a talented St. John's team still remaining—the talk seems a little premature now. Similarly, despite No. 1 Kentucky's overwhelming talent, the Wildcats played two overtime games last week in the SEC and lost two of their first-place votes to Virginia in this week's AP Poll. After watching Kentucky struggle against Ole Miss and Texas A&M, it definitely seems a little early to crown the Wildcats and project any outcomes in the postseason.
Top-seven teams Arizona and Wisconsin also fell last week and major questions loom about the Wildcat offense and the long-term health of Badger stars Traevon Jackson and Frank Kaminsky. In short, the teams most people were projecting to make the Final Four have shown flaws early in conference play. In all, 15 top-25 teams lost last week, which makes filling out a March Madness bracket come tournament time seem like an even more daunting task. The inaugural College Football Playoff was as exciting as expected, but come March it does not appear that there will be a shortage of upsets or drama in the NCAA tournament either.
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