Stock Up, Stock Down: Duke cruises to easy victory over Virginia Tech
Cassius Stanley
Not many Blue Devils found themselves hotter than Cassius Stanley was on Saturday night.
The freshman ended with a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting and 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
After missing the Notre Dame victory due to an eye injury, Stanley never had a rhythm against North Carolina State, much like the rest of the Blue Devils.
Saturday was the first time since the Los Angeles native scored at least ten points since the overtime victory over North Carolina and prior to that was the victory over Syracuse.
Cassius Stanley is a major X-Factor for the Blue Devils going forward, and with his athleticism and spurt-ability, he is always a threat any time he is on the court.
Matthew Hurt
Matthew Hurt has just about been the definition of feast or famine in his first season with the Blue Devils but Saturday was a feast night for the Minnesota native.
Hurt came off the bench with and posted his first double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds in 24 minutes.
The freshman was 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range as efficiency and shooting with confidence hasn’t been one of Hurt’s strong points this season but he was just 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
Much like his freshman teammate Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt is an X-Factor for Duke because he has the potential to be a lethal scorer but it’s been the consistency that has plagued him all season long.
Vernon Carey Jr.
Vernon Carey Jr. has become so good and so dominant his outstanding play often gets overlooked.
In just 23 minutes, the fewest of all Duke starters, the freshman fell one rebound shy of another double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting.
The big man showed his ability to step beyond the permitter and make one of his two 3-point attempts.
Carey Jr. also made 7-of-9 free throws, something that he was not able to consistently do in the loss to NC State.
A frontrunner for ACC Player of the Year, Mike Krzyzewski seems to be waiting to fully unleash his dominant big man for when the Blue Devils desperately need it.