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
Matt Jones: Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook and Jahlil Okafor got most of the attention when Duke was playing well in its loss at Notre Dame and comeback win at Virginia last week—and rightfully so—but the Blue Devils' unsung hero was Jones. The DeSoto, Texas, native led Duke in assists against the Fighting Irish with four and was huge as the Blue Devils built their 10-point lead. Although he was unable to help Duke end its late drought as the Blue Devils saw their lead disappear Wednesday, Jones was an integral part of Duke's rally in Charlottesville.
The 6-foot-5 guard played the four for a late stretch as the Blue Devils went small to try to turn the tide of the game and knocked down one of Duke's six late triples that fueled its closing 22-7 run. He also made several big plays throughout the game, finishing with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a block in 24 minutes. Jones does not have the natural talent of Rasheed Sulaimon, but if he can keep making big plays he has a chance to continue seeing major minutes as the team's sixth man. The Blue Devil starters are extremely talented, but with Sulaimon's departure will need Jones to keep surging to maintain the versatility with lineups that makes them so dangerous.
ACC regular season drama: Every week in the ACC seems to produce memorable moments and this week was no different. In addition to the Blue Devils' epic comeback that prevented Virginia from building a substantial lead in the standings, there were several more exciting finishes, including a buzzer-beater from N.C. State's Trevor Lacey.
The Cavaliers bounced back from their first loss of the season Monday night against North Carolina, but with Duke hosting No. 10 Notre Dame and Virginia hosting No. 9 Louisville later this week, don't be surprised if there's more ACC drama to report next week.
Duke women's basketball: The Blue Devils desperately needed a big win Monday against No. 8 Louisville and got it, using three triples from Ka'lia Johnson and double-digit performances from all five starters to prevail 66-58. With the win, Duke jumped into a tie for third in the ACC standings with the Cardinals, just one game behind the two teams tied at the top—No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 9 Florida State—and notched its second top-15 win in the past eight days.
Bear Market—Trending Down
Odds of Kentucky losing in the regular season: With Virginia's loss, the Wildcats regained their unanimous No. 1 status after notching their fourth and fifth consecutive easy wins. With no more games against ranked teams left on its schedule, Kentucky looks to be sitting pretty with just a Saturday date at Florida as a foreseeable possibility for a loss. Anything can happen in the NCAA tournament, but it's hard to see the Wildcats taking a loss as John Calipari's squad continues building confidence.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.