🤯 Kansas 89, Kentucky 84
A classic Blue Blood battle sunk No. 17 Kentucky, but not without a fight. The Jayhawks began on a 9-0 tear before the Wildcats played from behind to put up nine three-pointers in the first half to lead by seven at the break. The Wildcat streak from the charity stripe halted in the second as Kansas attacked from inside-out, specifically holding guard Antonio Reeves to shooting 2-11 from afar. The Jayhawks shot 53.6% from the field in the second and scrapped through foul trouble to get by the Wildcats.
Redshirt senior Dajuan Harris Jr. and Hunter Dickinson both recorded career-bests against Kentucky. Harris, last season’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, showed off his expertise on the other end of the court with 23 points, beating out his previous record by five points. Impact transfer and Preseason All-American Dickinson rebounded the most of his career, racking up 21 boards alongside 27 points. Graduate senior Kevin McCullar was one rebound shy of a triple-double, dishing out 10 assists while putting up 12 points and grabbing nine boards.
In contrast, Kentucky’s younger talent put up numbers against a vetted Kansas squad. Sophomore Adou Theiro posted his first career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and freshman Reed Sheppard scored 13, knocking in 4-5 from the perimeter.
Kansas ultimately showed poise down low and charged ahead with 10 more defensive rebounds (37-27) and almost double the points in the paint (42-22) as Kentucky. A few clutch points down the stretch and the No. 1 team retained its composure in the face of pressure.
😈 Duke 74, Michigan State 65
Freshman guard and five-star recruit Caleb Foster caught fire in the second half off the bench for the Blue Devils to help them power past Michigan State in the Champions Classic in Chicago on Tuesday night. Foster ended the game with 18 points with 16 of them coming in the second half. He shot 7-8 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range.
A stellar performance of Michigan State’s star point guard Tyson Walker in the second half kept the Spartans in it, but it wasn’t enough for MSU to get the top-10 win. Walker ended the game with 22 points.
Duke’s premier forward, Kyle Filipowski was the second leading scorer for the Blue Devils with 15 points, and nearly recorded a double-double, notching eight rebounds.
Although the game ended in Duke’s favor by nine, the main problem for MSU came down to the charity stripe. The Spartans shot just 58% from the free-throw line, while Duke got the line significantly more and knocked down 80% of its shots from the stripe.