Champions Classic and Other Games
Three of the four Final Four teams from last year played in a two game showcase in Chicago last night. AP Top 5 teams Duke and Kentucky (#6 and #2 in my preseason ranking, respectively) faced off and a defending Final Four team in Michigan State faced AP top 5 Kansas (#13 and #5 in my poll, respectively) faced off in Chicago in the Champions Classic. Kentucky beat Duke fairly handily, winning 74-63, and Michigan State surprisingly pulled it out against Kansas 79-73.
On the UK-Duke Game
This was supposed to be a matchup between star players #2 recruit Skal Labissiere from Kentucky, star recruit Brandon Ingram from Duke, and Grayson Allen, who came in averaging 27 PPG for Duke. Instead, all three players played pretty terrible, as Ingram and Labissiere barely played due to foul trouble, poor defense and rebounding, and lack of effectiveness on offense. Grayson Allen played major minutes, but had an off night, missing his first 9 shots. Despite these things, it was a fun game to watch, especially early, as Marshall Plumlee came out on fire, scoring Duke's first 9 points, all on put backs, and looked unstoppable, while manhandling Kentucky star big man Skal Labissiere. Labissiere looked terrible early, as it seemed like he was refusing to box out while instead just jumping for the ball on rebounds. Kentucky played great, slowly taking the lead and controlling the tempo. Duke struggled to score, despite huge days from Plumlee and big man Amile Jefferson. The two combined for 28 points, 25 rebounds, 6 blocks (all from Plumlee!) and also shot 11 of 14 from the field, while the rest of Duke was 11 of 40. Although Kentucky played well, they need to learn to box out and consistently rebound, as Duke is not a team that rebounds dominantly, but they dominated Kentucky on the boards when Labissiere was in the game, and I'd expect him to be playing lots of minutes for the rest of the year. Other than that, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray played well, Marcus Lee had a double-double and Tyler Ulis was incredible for the Wildcats.
On the KU-Michigan State Game
I didn't get to see much of this game, but it was clear from the box score than Denzel Valentine dominated the game. He finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists, while leading the Spartans to a big victory of the Jayhawks. McDonald's All-American game and Jordan Brand classic MVP Cheick Diallo did not play for Kansas, which hurt them, but Kansas's guards did NOT step up. Frank Mason, Devonte' Graham and Wayne Selden, Jr. were a combined 9 of 36 from the field. Perry Ellis played well, but Denzel Valentine led a fantastic group of role players to the win. This win shows a lot about Michigan State, considering they lost by a good margin last year in the Champion's Classic, but still made the Final Four. Tom Izzo's teams always seem to improve a lot throughout the year, and a team that starts out this good has very high potential. The Spartans don't have much star power behind Valentine, but Lourawls Nairn, Jr., Matt Costello, Bryn Forbes, Javon Bess, Deyonta Davis, Colby Wallenman and Matt McQuaid make up a group with a lot of depth. This doesn't even include Eron Harris, who averaged over 17 points per game for West Virginia two years ago. Harris played limited (10) minutes, and struggled on defense, but once he becomes comfortable under Izzo, he could be a great scorer.
Overall, it was a good night (and day) for basketball, as these weren't the only games. Wichita State lost on the road to Tulsa. Tulsa is ranked number 39 in my poll, but played better than that last night, although Wichita State star point guard Fred Van Vleet wasn't close to fully healthy, and wasn't playing at crunch time. Tulsa could be a sleeper for the rest of the year... Additionally Valpo looked good with a win on the road over Rhode Island, and the day before, LSU dominated Kennesaw State, with freshman phenom Ben Simmons playing an impeccable game, scoring 22 points on 11 of 17 from the field, along with 9 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, along with zero turnovers. With Simmons playing like this, LSU could be a tough team to stop. In other news of the night, Maryland and Oklahoma both showed guts in closing out tough wins vs Georgetown and Memphis respectively, though both the Terrapins and the Sooners need to play better when facing tougher competition.
On the UK-Duke Game
This was supposed to be a matchup between star players #2 recruit Skal Labissiere from Kentucky, star recruit Brandon Ingram from Duke, and Grayson Allen, who came in averaging 27 PPG for Duke. Instead, all three players played pretty terrible, as Ingram and Labissiere barely played due to foul trouble, poor defense and rebounding, and lack of effectiveness on offense. Grayson Allen played major minutes, but had an off night, missing his first 9 shots. Despite these things, it was a fun game to watch, especially early, as Marshall Plumlee came out on fire, scoring Duke's first 9 points, all on put backs, and looked unstoppable, while manhandling Kentucky star big man Skal Labissiere. Labissiere looked terrible early, as it seemed like he was refusing to box out while instead just jumping for the ball on rebounds. Kentucky played great, slowly taking the lead and controlling the tempo. Duke struggled to score, despite huge days from Plumlee and big man Amile Jefferson. The two combined for 28 points, 25 rebounds, 6 blocks (all from Plumlee!) and also shot 11 of 14 from the field, while the rest of Duke was 11 of 40. Although Kentucky played well, they need to learn to box out and consistently rebound, as Duke is not a team that rebounds dominantly, but they dominated Kentucky on the boards when Labissiere was in the game, and I'd expect him to be playing lots of minutes for the rest of the year. Other than that, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray played well, Marcus Lee had a double-double and Tyler Ulis was incredible for the Wildcats.
On the KU-Michigan State Game
I didn't get to see much of this game, but it was clear from the box score than Denzel Valentine dominated the game. He finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists, while leading the Spartans to a big victory of the Jayhawks. McDonald's All-American game and Jordan Brand classic MVP Cheick Diallo did not play for Kansas, which hurt them, but Kansas's guards did NOT step up. Frank Mason, Devonte' Graham and Wayne Selden, Jr. were a combined 9 of 36 from the field. Perry Ellis played well, but Denzel Valentine led a fantastic group of role players to the win. This win shows a lot about Michigan State, considering they lost by a good margin last year in the Champion's Classic, but still made the Final Four. Tom Izzo's teams always seem to improve a lot throughout the year, and a team that starts out this good has very high potential. The Spartans don't have much star power behind Valentine, but Lourawls Nairn, Jr., Matt Costello, Bryn Forbes, Javon Bess, Deyonta Davis, Colby Wallenman and Matt McQuaid make up a group with a lot of depth. This doesn't even include Eron Harris, who averaged over 17 points per game for West Virginia two years ago. Harris played limited (10) minutes, and struggled on defense, but once he becomes comfortable under Izzo, he could be a great scorer.
Overall, it was a good night (and day) for basketball, as these weren't the only games. Wichita State lost on the road to Tulsa. Tulsa is ranked number 39 in my poll, but played better than that last night, although Wichita State star point guard Fred Van Vleet wasn't close to fully healthy, and wasn't playing at crunch time. Tulsa could be a sleeper for the rest of the year... Additionally Valpo looked good with a win on the road over Rhode Island, and the day before, LSU dominated Kennesaw State, with freshman phenom Ben Simmons playing an impeccable game, scoring 22 points on 11 of 17 from the field, along with 9 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, along with zero turnovers. With Simmons playing like this, LSU could be a tough team to stop. In other news of the night, Maryland and Oklahoma both showed guts in closing out tough wins vs Georgetown and Memphis respectively, though both the Terrapins and the Sooners need to play better when facing tougher competition.
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