The Champions Classic was a great idea when it first came out, an event in the first few days of the season that would lend a good deal of buzz to a sport that tends to lack it at this point. We would get two great matchups at a neutral site with elite programs, and for a while it was part of the 24-hour Tip-Off Marathon.
This year, it was probably a good thing that the doubleheader stood alone. We got two games worthy of the event in every respect.
We started with a matchup of two teams we could see on the final Monday night of the season in Duke and Michigan State. We had the great talent of Duke and the deep, veteran Michigan State team in a matchup that wasn’t a true contrast in personnel, but was probably about as close to it as we could get in this event. We also had the Blue Devils playing with a heavy heart, as assistant coach Jeff Capel III was not with the team after his father passed away on Monday about a year and a half after being diagnosed with ALS. And while Duke’s freshmen played a role, the star of the night was a senior in their 88-81 win.
Grayson Allen was the star of the night without question. Flanked by four freshmen in the stating lineup, he was 7-11 from long range and made every free throw en route to a career-high 37 points. The beleaguered senior – by his own actions, it should be noted – has always been able to play, but the quality of his play has been overshadowed by his penchant for stupid actions on the floor. But he made sure his last Champions Classic was his time to shine, or at least, his first of many this season.
If Grayson Allen’s head is right, Duke will be awfully tough to beat, especially when he has help like he did from Trevon Duval (17 points, 10 assists) and Wendell Carter (12 points, 12 rebounds). Duke out-rebounded Michigan State 46-34, something that almost never happens.
The most heralded freshman, Marvin Bagley III, was not in the game for long as teammate Javin DeLaurier scratched his eye near the halfway point of the first half. He didn’t return, so it was up to others like Duval and Carter to come up big – and they did, along with DeLaurier.
The game was a back-and-forth affair. Duke led 38-34 at the break, but Michigan State quickly made up the difference to tie and then at times take the lead. The Spartans had a 75-73 lead before the final media timeout, but it was all Duke from there, including Allen as he had two more three-pointers.
You wondered if the nightcap could possibly top that, and while reasonable people can debate that, Kentucky and Kansas certainly gave everyone about all they could ask for. It wasn’t a thing of beauty from an offensive standpoint, but it was a tight game throughout and had plenty of runs and leads exchanged.
What this game showed as much as anything is that in recent years, Bill Self’s Kansas teams have developed an even bigger will to win than before. Kansas still gets plenty of talent – most Division I programs would love to have their personnel – but from a pure talent standpoint, in recent years they have not had quite the same level as in prior years. They have been guided increasingly by upperclassmen, and this year looks to be no different.
The top freshman on the roster, Billy Preston, is not exactly off to an auspicious start in Lawrence. He missed curfew and class, which got him benched for their season opener, and they held him out of Tuesday night’s game as well after he was involved in a single-car accident on campus on Saturday. Meanwhile, the heart and soul of this team is clearly going to be Devonte Graham, a senior guard. And even he didn’t have the best of nights, as he had five turnovers and shot 3-14 from the field. But he competed to the end, and is setting a tone for this team. At times, Udoka Azubuike looked like the dominating big man he looked like in high school. The Wildcats won despite shooting 35 percent from the field.
We have plenty of good in-season tournaments right around the corner. On Tuesday night, we got a good start in Chicago to lead us into that stretch.
Side Dishes
Could the Champions Classic get us going in the years to come? A report by ESPN.com suggests that, noting that the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee has kicked that idea around. The Tuesday before the second Friday in November is one option for a start date, which would also help the competition for attention with college football. Right now, the Friday night that starts often has a few good matchups, while the second day is often a dead day because football dominates TV. The search for a solid opening night in college basketball seems endless. While we have one right now, because of how the second day goes it feels unsatisfying.
The NCAA finally declared NC State freshman Braxton Beverly to be eligible immediately, but it shouldn’t have come to this. After an appeal was denied, Beverly threatened to go to court, and the NCAA relented. Beverly originally signed with Ohio State, who abruptly fired Thad Matta in June. That was what prompted him to leave and enroll at NC State. And CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander nicely highlighted that the NCAA is taking their time with other cases, with those players having to wait… and wait.
The most notable game on the night outside of Chicago was another in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, where Purdue downed Marquette 86-71, while one other result that will leap out is Eastern Washington heading south and knocking off Stanford 67-61.
Georgia Tech now knows how long they will be without Tadric Jackson and Josh Okogie due to self-reported NCAA violations. Jackson will be out for three games, including the season opener, while Okogie will miss the first six games of the season, also including the season opener. That means Jackson, a senior guard, is eligible to return when the Yellow Jackets host North Texas on November 24, and Okogie, a sophomore guard, can return on December 3, when they host Tennessee.
Tonight’s Menu
A busy night of games is on tap, highlighted by another in-season event.
- The Gavitt Tipoff Games continue tonight with Indiana at Seton Hall (6:30 p.m.), followed by Maryland hosting Butler (8:30 p.m.) and Northwestern hosting Creighton (9 p.m.)
- Brigham Young travels to Princeton in a game worth checking out, although it won’t be nationally televised (7 p.m.)
- North Carolina hosts Bucknell and Oklahoma hosts Ball State in PK80 campus games, both at 8 p.m.
