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
Duke basketball: It has been extremely rare for opponents to enter the Kohl Center and exit with relatively convincing road victories, but that's exactly what the Blue Devils did in Madison last Wednesday. Although Duke played a different style than it had early in the season, it still shot 65.2 percent from the field led by freshmen phenoms Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor.
After their eighth double-digit win of the season in as many contests, the Blue Devils rose to No. 2 in Monday's AP Poll and established themselves as a legitimate contender by convincingly winning their first road game. After a long 12-day break for final exams, Duke will take on Elon Monday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium before facing another test against reigning champions Connecticut at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., Dec. 18.
Rasheed Sulaimon: The Houston native has had an up-and-down career, to say the least, but was at his best once again against Wisconsin, pouring in 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown and 2-of-2 from the free throw line, in just 21 minutes. The 6-foot-5 guard made three of his five baskets when the game was tied to make sure his team did not surrender its lead on the road and showed his comfort level in his new role off the bench.
Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook have been getting a lot of the attention for their superb guard play, but Sulaimon's consistency as conference play approaches will also have a huge impact on the Blue Devils' ability to maintain their offensive efficiency.
Black jerseys: Despite Duke's abysmal record in the past when wearing its black uniforms, the Blue Devils broke the curse last week with their strong performance. The knock on the uniforms was always that they looked great, but always caused Duke losses, so they might be worn again in the near future as long as the Blue Devils keep playing like they did last week.
Bear Market—Trending Down
Duke women's basketball: For the first time since 2007, the Blue Devils lost three games in a row and fell out of the top 10 in the AP Poll after a 51-50 gut-wrenching loss to No. 1 South Carolina in which Duke led by four points with less than 40 seconds left. In all three games, the Blue Devils had great chances to win late in the game, but could not finish the job late. Luckily for Duke, three-time All-American center Elizabeth Williams is back in the lineup, so the Blue Devils should be able to bounce back before a Dec. 29 trip to take on No. 2 Connecticut on the road.
College Football Playoff weekly rankings: The final rankings that were released and included Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State were fine, but showed that the prior weekly rankings that had TCU as high as No. 3 before winning 55-3 in its final game were meaningless. The Horned Frogs fell three spots just because the committee was impressed by how the Buckeyes played without J.T. Barrett, which is fine, but the decision validated the idea that the weekly updates were merely a publicity and financial stunt. Fans, players and coaches alike should avoid reading so much into the weekly facade next season if the same format is implemented.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.