Stock Watch: Duke basketball adds to impressive resume as weather worsens before Duke-UNC

The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has just rung again, meaning it’s time to take another 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

Duke basketball resume: The Blue Devils’ two losses to N.C. State and Miami early in ACC play don’t look great at this point, with the Wolfpack just 15-11 and 6-7 in league play and Hurricanes 16-9 and 6-6. But Duke’s impressive slate of road wins has made up for the two slip-ups. After Saturday’s 80-72 win at the Carrier Dome against Syracuse, the Blue Devils are now 7-2 in true road games this year, with wins at then-No. 2 Wisconsin, then-No. 6 Louisville, then-No. 2 Virginia and the Orange. Away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke is 11-2, and if the Blue Devils keep winning away from home, it’s hard to see them getting anything less than a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the brackets are unveiled March 15.

NBA All-Star Saturday night excitement: In recent years, many have criticized All-Star Saturday night for not producing the quality dunks or drama it did in the past, but it lived up to the billing this year. Three former Blue Devils were involved in the action, with Kyrie Irving and J.J. Redick competing in the 3-point contest and Mason Plumlee taking part in the dunk contest. All three had memorable experiences, with Irving putting on a show in the first round and early in the final round before cooling off and Redick getting several makes taken off the board for not being beyond the arc. Plumlee had a few solid dunks, including one over his brother, but ultimately didn’t make the final round.

Stephen Curry and Zach LaVine stole the show and provided the biggest fireworks, with Curry making 13 shots in a row in the final round and LaVine throwing down four spectacular dunks to take the title. Regardless of any biases or allegiances, All-Star Saturday night finally provided a show and TNT’s ratings for the event showed it. Irving, Redick and Plumlee are young enough that they could be going back for years to come.

Bear Market—Trending Down

Weather the week of Duke-North Carolina: For the second consecutive year, the weather leading up to the first matchup of Tobacco Road rivals of the season has put a wrench in the plans of many hoping to enjoy the historic rivalry. The annual P-checks concert was canceled for the second year in a row and several members of the media—including yours truly—were stranded in Syracuse following the Blue Devils’ 80-72 win Saturday night. The game is still scheduled for 9 p.m. Wednesday barring any more surprises, but winter storm Octavia could make it tough for many to enjoy it as originally planned, though at this time a cancellation reminiscent of last year’s seems unlikely.