By: William Smythe

The annual blockbuster of the Champions Classic will reappear tonight in Indianapolis. Featuring the likes of Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke, the stars will be out in what should be our first introduction to the “contenders” in some heavyweight non-conference matchups.

Frankly speaking, this past week of college basketball has been a snooze-fest.

Despite Temple’s stunner against ‘Nova, Northwestern State’s one-point victory over no. 15 TCU – like I said, beware of average seeds from previous seasons who return a lot of production – and Gonzaga and Michigan State’s battle on an aircraft carrier, star-studded matchups have been few and far between. Beginning with the Champions Classic, top-25 programs will now up the ante as they attempt to beef up their resumes for March. 

On that note, I just wanted to highlight my hometown team – the Norfolk State Spartans – and their unbelievable non-conference slate that would bring the Goliaths of the world to their knees: a schedule featuring no. 3 Houston, no. 8 UCLA and no. 5 Baylor. Albeit suffering two losses to UCLA and Baylor, kudos to Coach Robert Jones for bettering his team through top-25 exposure.

More teams should adopt this attitude in the era of cupcake schedules. Now, what can we expect from the blue-bloods tonight?

No. 4 Kentucky vs. Michigan State, 7 PM

What a battle this should be between two of the most dominant coaches of the 21st century. With the departure of Duke’s Coach K from college basketball, Tom Izzo and John Calipari make up the “best of the rest” thanks to two combined national championships in their tenures at Michigan State and Kentucky.

Izzo’s team is certainly facing less pressure than the ‘Cats – currently ranked no. 4 in the country – but they’ve already proven their worth on the national stage. A 64-63 loss to Gonzaga marred what could have been a season-defining victory, but the world took note of the Spartans’ fight; center Mady Sissoko might be the unexpected X-factor for a team that shot 3 for 16 from three on an aircraft carrier – suffice it to say the outside conditions may have factored in to that clip.

Sissoko – who muscled his way to 14 points in only 25 minutes – complements a frontcourt of talented forwards Malik Hall and Joey Hauser – two guys who may have a field day against a depleted Kentucky.

The Spartans 1-1 record has kept them from the top-25 thus far, yet they’ll get their second biggest chance to leapfrog into the ranked conversation with a win over Kentucky. Tom Izzo’s team will obviously hope to convert a higher percentage from three, but they have already learned that the frontcourt may be the key to unlocking the Spartans’ potential.

And now, for the Wildcats. The question here is the availability of returning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe. According to insider Jeff Goodman, the nation’s best rebounder will make his season debut against the Spartans tonight.

Tshiebwe’s return would be MASSIVE for Calipari and company considering the frontcourt disadvantage. In his stead, the guard depth has been instrumental for the ‘Cats, as the ascendance of guard Antonio Reeves (20.0 ppg) and Iowa transfer CJ Fredrick (17.5 ppg) gives them two options beyond a proven facilitator in Sahvir Wheeler (11.0 apg).

If I’m Calipari, I’m not starting Tshiebwe following a knee procedure. He’ll likely be on a “pitch count” – as the MLB saying goes – and will not see the same workload required of him last year. This slight hiccup for the ‘Cats leads me to pick the Spartans – largely thanks to their frontcourt depth.

The first leg of the Champions Classic will be an excellent tune-up for the mammoth Duke-Kansas contest, with Izzo besting Calipari and proving that the Spartans belong with the big boys.

Prediction: MSU 73, Kentucky 68

No. 7 Duke vs. No. 6 Kansas, 9:30 PM

The defending national champions taking on Mike Kryzewski’s heir? Come on! The main event of the Champions Classic, Kansas v. Duke will feature two revamped rosters and a different face on the Blue Devils side line for the first time in 43 years.

Coach Jon Scheyer’s shoes to fill aren’t big, they’re immense. The heir to college basketball’s kingpin will continue the trend of freshmen-laden rosters in 2022, with three newcomers and two veterans comprising the Blue Devils’ starting lineup.

Senior transfer Ryan Young (11.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) – a Northwestern product – has been a revelation for Scheyer in the wake of a nagging injury to freshman center Dereck Lively – the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year. 

Duke is what we thought they were: talented and young. They’ll suffer once again from the absence of five-star Dariq Whitehead, but it’s really a first-world problem when you consider the options Scheyer has to toy with. Freshman center Kyle Filipowski (12.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg) complements Young in the frontcourt, while junior and seasoned veteran Jeremy Roach (13.0 ppg, 6.0 apg) anchors the backcourt for the second year in a row.

This is an extremely balanced roster with a plethora of scoring options. Even without a full-strength roster, they’ll be just fine taking on the Jayhawks. 

Coach Bill Self may arguably be the most accomplished coach still standing in college basketball. With a second national championship under his belt, he’ll deploy a roster which lost first-round picks Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, as well as center David McCormack.

However, Self dipped into the transfer pool to snag former Texas Tech guard Kevin McCullar (8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and made a recruiting splash by landing five-star guard Gradey Dick (17.5 ppg). Dick and returning forward Jalen Wilson (20.0 ppg) are the straws which stir the drink for this Kansas offense, who will look to establish their own identity after the loss of their top two scorers from last season. 

With a starting lineup featuring zero players over 6’8, I worry about the matchup between the likes of Young, Lively and Filipowski and Wilson and co. It seems like a lifetime ago that the Jayhawks didn’t roll out a dominant center in their ranks – look to McCormack and former star Udoka Azubuike as evidence.

This is a new era of Self hoops in Lawrence, but I believe that Scheyer may have the depth and the height advantage in the Champions Classic.

As much as I find the Blue Devils’ faithful abhorrent, I can’t overlook their roster’s promise even in a matchup against the defending champs.

Prediction: Duke 68, Kansas 66