By: William Smythe

The Champions Classic delivered, and then some. Aside from the Armed Forces Classic last week, we were finally able to witness the blue-bloods compete with each other on a national stage – sorry, North Carolina, I guess you guys don’t make the cut. The Michigan State-Kentucky affair made an early case for the best game of the year, featuring a 2-OT battle that pitted the ‘Cats’ Oscar Tshiebwe and the Spartans’ three-headed monster of a frontcourt against each other in a classic showdown. Kansas then took care of business late against a talented yet injured Duke team – who fell to 2-1 in the first edition of the Jon Scheyer era in Durham. Tonight, the action only ramps up. The no. 2 ‘Zags – coming off of a gritty victory over the Spartans – will travel to Austin to take on no. 11 Texas on their home floor in yet another non-conference, blockbuster matchup.  

Michigan State’s win over Coach Cal’s crew will surely launch them into the top-15 when the next AP Poll releases. What’s remarkable is the lack of depth which the Spartans possess, as only one bench player – guard Jaden Akins – played more than 10 minutes throughout. The guard play was underwhelming – as it may be for the rest of the year – but the trio of Izzo’s big men shouldered the load down the stretch. Center Mady Sissoko and forwards Malik Hall and Joey Hauser combined for 59 of Michigan State’s 86 points, with Hall helping to send the Spartans to both overtime periods. Izzo and company struggled to contain Kentucky’s vacuum of a rebounder, Oscar Tshiebwe, who returned from injury and didn’t look phased physically with a 22-point, 18 rebound effort.

When Tshiebwe fouled out at the end of the first overtime period, Kentucky lost all hope of victory. There simply aren’t enough contributors around Tshiebwe for this Wildcat roster to give them a fighting chance when he fouls out – a problem when he’s tasked with styming potent frontcourts. A positive for Coach Cal, however, is the emergence of freshman guard Cason Wallace on the defensive side of the ball. Wallace notched eight steals – yes, eight – and tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the loss. I don’t think a Wildcat guard has been this dominant defensively since Ashton Hagans’s 58-steal campaign in 2019-20. Wallace might also end up playing second fiddle to Tshiebwe on offense, a surprise considering senior guard Sahvir Wheeler’s return.

Kentucky doesn’t need to worry that much about this result. Yes, they’ll take on the ‘Zags in Spokane, yet they should contend for SEC supremacy if they can keep no. 10 Arkansas at bay. Michigan State, on the other hand, should be absolutely ecstatic about this result and the trajectory of their season to this point. Izzo has to be kicking himself for letting the Bulldogs fly out of San Diego with a one-point victory, which would have helped propel the Spartans to a no. 1 national ranking after the Kentucky victory. Nonetheless, they’re perfectly situated to make a run for the Big Ten crown after a surprise start to the year. 

No. 7 Duke and no. 6 Kansas tipped off at 10:24 PM EST, deep into the night and fifty-four minutes after the scheduled start time. The Jayhawks looked every bit like the defending national champions from the jump, establishing an early 19-8 lead over the Blue Devils to start the first half. Scheyer’s squad eventually crawled their way back into contention – heading into the half down four – and started to turn the tides as the game progressed. A back-and-forth affair ultimately gave us the battle we all wanted to see: Kansas freshman Gradey Dick versus fellow rookie Kyle Filipowski.

Now, we’ll probably publish an article about which one will be the next Christian Laettner, but these guys can ball. Dick emerged after a quiet first half by scoring seven-late points to ice it for the Jayhawks, while Filipowski dominated the low post with a 17-point, 14 rebound effort. Surprisingly, no. 1 rated freshman center Dereck Lively was completely overshadowed by Filipowski and looked like a chicken with his head cut off throughout. Filipowski was poised, polished, and seems to be the top scorer for a Duke team with a tremendous ceiling.

Kansas defied my expectations. I thought the losses of Agbaji and Braun would nip the Jayhawks’ in the bud in their defense of a national championship, yet Dick and forward Jalen Wilson could be even better than the aforementioned duo. Wilson did jack up some questionable shots at times, but he can be depended on as a veteran presence after a 25-point, 11 rebound effort. The person who impressed me the most, though? Senior guard Dajuan Harris. He’s the ultimate glue guy after being overlooked all of last season. Harris – who posted six points and 10 assists – was so unbelievably steady for Kansas all throughout the game. He’s a pass-first, traditional point guard and seemed to make everyone on the court better. All of the acclaim and press will fall on Dick and Wilson, but Self and assistant coach Norm Roberts will need Harris for more than 30 minutes in every game this season. 

Duke will be fine. Kansas will leap into the top-five. Both teams didn’t lose too much in the Champions Classic and showed that they haven’t skipped a beat after appearing in the Final Four last season. When freshman Dariq Whitehead finally appears for the Blue Devils, I fear that they will reach the potential which they displayed last night. The freshman formula may finally break through for Duke’s first national championship since 2015 – but hold on, Kansas has the edge at the moment.