Stock Up, Stock Down: Duke steamrolls Notre Dame for easy victory

Duke basketball (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Duke basketball (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
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Duke basketball
Duke basketball guard Jordan Goldwire (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

The Duke basketball team cruised to an easy victory on Saturday afternoon after steamrolling the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Coming off two grueling games, Saturday afternoon was exactly what the Duke Blue Devils needed.

A thrilling comeback against North Carolina and a fierce battle against Florida State in the span of three days, Duke enjoyed its few days off and would welcome in a strong Notre Dame team on Saturday.

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The Blue Devils hadn’t played in a game where the outcome was never in doubt since January 21 in a 30-point win over Miami and Duke got just what it wanted against the Fighting Irish.

Duke ran over Notre Dame, 94-60, after using a jaw-dropping second-half run, as soon as Zion Williamson entered Cameron Indoor Stadium, to down the Fighting Irish.

Saturday afternoon was one of Duke’s most complete games of the year, shooting 56.5 percent from the field (39-of-69) and holding Notre Dame to 36.5 percent shooting from the floor (23-of-63).

The Blue Devils were also 45.5 percent from 3-point range (10-of-22) while Notre Dame was just 23.8 percent from deep (5-of-21).

Duke valued the basketball much more than in previous games, only turning the ball over nine times while forcing 14 Notre Dame turnovers, 11 coming via steals. The Blue Devils also out-rebounded Notre Dame 40-30 and had 19 assists on its 39 made field goals.

The only negative for the Blue Devils was not having Cassius Stanley on Saturday afternoon who was reportedly injured in pregame warmups after getting poked in the eye by a student manager who was going for a rebound on a missed shot.

Stanley was on the Duke bench in full uniform but never saw any game action although it appears he will be ready to play on Wednesday night when Duke travels to play North Carolina State at 9:00pm EST on ESPN.