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Stock up, stock down from Duke’s Champions Classic win over Kansas

By Kevin Connelly

Duke basketball guard Cassius Stanley (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Duke basketball guard Cassius Stanley (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 05: Vernon Carey Jr. #1 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates after he drew the foul in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 05: Vernon Carey Jr. #1 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates after he drew the foul in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Duke Basketball team defeated the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night and some players hurt their stock while some players helped it.

No. 4 Duke came from behind to defeat the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks in the State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday night for its first win of the season.

There were a lot of question marks associated with the Blue Devils coming into the season, and some of those questions still remain, but there were some players who stepped up and answered some of those doubts.

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However, some players didn’t play their best game and while it’s not an overreaction since it was the first game of the season, those players may have hurt their stock in the early season showdown against Kansas.

The Blue Devils led by three at halftime and trailed by as many as nine in the second half against the Jayhawks, but rallied for a 68-66 victory.

While a win in November cannot be taken too seriously or too lightly, the win was impressive for Duke as the team didn’t have a proven, or go-to scorer, and the freshmen on the roster lacked the talent and explosiveness of last year’s freshmen but matched their heart in every way imaginable.

Cassius Stanley and Tre Jones were the main focus of the win for Duke, but players like Matthew Hurt, Vernon Carey Jr., and Jack White‘s contributions went under the radar, but all made tremendous winning plays to secure the victory for the Blue Devils.

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