It was not a good night for a handful of Duke basketball players against Michigan State.
There was not one thing the Duke basketball team could hang its hat on in defeat against Michigan State on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils could not shoot, pass, dribble, or defend in their 75-69 loss, not exactly a winning formula, is it?
Duke struggled in its season-opening victory over Coppin State, but many teams have struggled early in this strange season. Unfortunately for Mike Krzyzewski, he ran into a veteran team that his close friend Tom Izzo has, and veteran teams have performed better thus far in the year.
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Krzyzewski made a predictable change in the starting lineup, placing Jordan Goldwire and Joey Baker on the bench in favor of Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward.
It did not go well. Neither player performed up to his expectations or standards set in the opener, and only Goldwire performed well in his new role off the bench, something he has grown accustomed to in his previous three years in Durham.
What to make of the Duke basketball loss against Michigan State
After having high expectations for the 2020-21 squad after individual performances on Saturday afternoon, everyone was brought back down to earth and hit with the realization that this team has a long way to go before crowning itself champions.
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With that being said, there were also several Blue Devils who saw their stocks plummet as a result of the loss and some Duke players who actually played well and should see a boost in minutes going forward.
After such a negative night, we will be positive and start with our regular ‘Stock Up’ column.