John Fanta
College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter
While the college basketball season is already a week old, the unofficial event serving as the tip-off of the new year in the sport, the Champions Classic, took place Tuesday night in Atlanta. With No. 1 Kansas and Michigan State in the opener, followed by No. 6 Duke and No. 19 Kentucky in the late game, there was no shortage of buzz or storylines surrounding the heavyweight clashes.
The evening opened with the nation’s No. 1 team handling business in a rugged affair. Hunter Dickinson had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks to a 77-69 win over the Spartans. But as good as Dickinson was, the headline of the night was his head coach, Bill Self, who made more history by earning his 591st victory, passing Phog Allen to become Kansas’ winningest head coach.
Later on in the nightcap, the Kentucky Wildcats, with a new-look offense and a transfer-heavy roster, came back from 10 down to beat Duke, 77-72.
The Blue Devils had the ball with 26 seconds remaining, and the game tied at 72-72. Cooper Flagg, the top-rated freshman in the nation and projected No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick, got the ball and was stripped before fouling Kentucky’s Otega Oweh. With his team down two and 10 seconds left, Flagg received the in-bounds pass and drove down the left side before losing his handle on the ball and his footing, causing a game-sealing turnover. Lamont Butler made his first free throw, and then an offensive rebound cemented the Wildcats’ victory.
Here are three takeaways from each of Tuesday night’s Champions Classic games:
1. This was personal for Hunter Dickinson, who single-handedly willed Kansas in a game that was far from pretty.
Tuesday night’s Champions Classic opener certainly won’t be hung for display in the Louvre, with the two teams opening the contest by shooting 6-for-31 from the floor. But the difference-maker was the national player of the year candidate and fifth-year Jayhawks senior, who dominated the game. Tom Izzo told the ESPN broadcast at halftime that he was willing to go single-man coverage on the All-American if it meant the other Jayhawks were quiet. That strategy certainly kept Michigan State in the game, but it provided little resistance to the 7-foot-2 Dickinson. He scored the game’s first eight points for Kansas. At one point in the second half, Michigan State tied the game at 41, 43 and 45 – with Dickinson supplying the game-tying buckets each trip down for the Jayhawks.
When the Spartans put together one last effort to cut Kansas’ lead to 68-61 with 2:38 remaining, Zeke Mayo missed a layup and Dickinson saved the day, delivering the dagger putback that sealed the deal.
This was personal for the former Michigan Wolverine, who was on the receiving end of boos from Spartan fans throughout the night. With less than two minutes on the clock, Dickinson made a motion to the Spartans and their fans, stomping his foot on the hardwood.
“I was saying they’re too small,” Dickinson said in his postgame press conference. “They can’t guard me. This was a very big game for me.”
2. Michigan State lacks perimeter shooting.
You could really feel the departure of All-Big Ten selection Tyson Walker on Tuesday night. Tom Izzo was counting on Jaden Akins and Jeremy Fears to take the reins of the backcourt, but Akins shot 1-for-8 and was a nonfactor, while Fears was 3-for-8 from the floor. It’s amazing the Spartans came as close as they did and were in the game with five minutes remaining. Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler put together some good moments, posting 15 points and eight rebounds, while Jaxon Kohler had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Jase Richardson, the son of the Michigan State legend and two-time NBA Slam Dunk contest champion Jason Richardson, had some good moments with eight points.
But the Spartans shot just 3-for-24 from 3-point range on the night. On the season, Michigan State is 12-for-60 from downtown. The law of averages says that won’t continue, but it’s clear that Izzo has a problem on the perimeter, and he has to find a solution. That was an issue at times last year after the graduation of Joey Hauser.
3. Did Kansas look like the No. 1 team in the country? No, but Hunter Dickinson put it best.
Dajuan Harris, KJ Adams and Mayo shot a combined 5-for-22 from the field, which was far from pretty. Kansas has a perimeter problem of its own, as the players the Jayhawks brought in need to put the ball on the floor to score and the catch-and-shoot threats, at least at this moment, aren’t consistent. AJ Storr, a Wisconsin transfer, and Mayo are ball handlers that can score off the bounce at a high level. But Self does not have that elite shooter in his arsenal, and it has shown in the last two games. Against the Spartans and North Carolina, Kansas has combined to shoot 11-for-38 from distance.
But Dickinson responded to a question from a reporter in the press conference regarding whether this was the type of performance from a No. 1-caliber team.
“I mean, there’s no better record that we could have right now than 3-0,” he said. “We beat a top-10 team, North Carolina, and we just beat another team who will likely end up being in the top-25, Michigan State. Are there things we can get better at? Of course. But we’ll take this any day of the week.”
Dickinson caps his two-year run in the Champions Classic with a combined 55 points and 33 rebounds in wins over Kentucky and Michigan State. He lived for the bright lights again Tuesday, and his Hall of Fame coach got his much-deserved shine.
1. Andrew Carr and Otega Oweh showed their experience down the stretch.
Carr, a Wake Forest transfer who is now in his fifth college season, hit a big and-1 with Kentucky down 67-64. After a Wildcats stop, he was on the elbow with the ball when Oweh, an Oklahoma transfer, flashed to the bucket and received a pass for a go-ahead lay-in. The duo combined to score 12 of Kentucky’s final 13 points in the victory.
Duke five-star freshman big man Khaman Maluach was dealing with cramping from the 9:20 mark to the 3:57 mark in the game. When he left, Duke was up 61-55. When he re-entered, it was 67 apiece. His absence certainly changed the game, but Kentucky still capitalized with Carr making a major difference with his presence. That’s a transfer portal win for Pope.
2. This is a learning moment for Cooper Flagg, and we should remember he’s 17 years old.
Without Flagg, Duke would have been lost in its offensive execution beyond the final 90 seconds of the game. Some might be critical of the freshman, and everyone will have an opinion, but here’s mine: Flagg will learn from this and be better off for a game like this. The freshman finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds along with a +/- of +27. His impact on the game knows no limits. Yes, he unraveled in the game’s final two possessions, but we’re nine days into the season. You can’t overreact to this.
One big-picture item for Duke: The lack of elite and consistent point guard play with Jeremy Roach gone to Baylor – yes, he was inconsistent too – could be felt late in the game. Flagg was the man Duke relied upon, but a situation where Tyrese Proctor has ups and downs in a game and Caleb Foster isn’t a crunch-time player yet, certainly was seen late in the game. Duke went 4-for-22 from 3-point land. Now, I think this was an outlier for Kon Knueppel, who went 5-for-20 and will certainly respond from this. But if he does not make 3s, the Blue Devils are in trouble in that department. Duke’s poor shooting from downtown made a big difference in this game. Kentucky started 5-for-5 from deep and finished with 10 treys, including a big one down the stretch from Kerr Kriisa.
3. Everything about the Mark Pope Era is refreshing for the Kentucky faithful.
Walking around the concourse at State Farm Arena on Tuesday night, one Kentucky fan approached me: “At the end of the day, John Calipari’s time featured a ton of incredible moments. But it was time for the end. A breakup was the best thing for us.”
You can’t argue with that fan’s views right now. For the first time in years, the Wildcats were running a wide variety of set plays. It was not an over-reliance on youth, but rather personnel rooted in college experience. Kentucky’s entire starting five are upperclassmen. And on a night where presumed star Jaxson Robinson had only one point and was a non-factor, where Amari Williams went 3-for-12 and Kriisa shot 2-for-9, the Wildcats didn’t let some cold spells define them. They showed their depth by going 10-deep, outscoring Duke’s bench, 25-6, and having six players score at least eight points.
On this night, Kentucky fans have to feel the best they have in years. They have a leader who is one of their own, a member of the legendary 1996 Untouchables, who showed he can get it done with the spotlight on him and his first attempt at a big win.
In Pope they trust. And Atlanta watering holes will make their month’s rent, if not more, from Big Blue Nation.
As for Duke, the Blue Devils will be fine. If anyone has pressure on him, it’s Scheyer, who is in his third year with a really talented team that just crumbled in the late-goings. It’s a Final Four or bust year in Durham. Let’s see how the Blue Devils respond.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.
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