Champions Classic Review
Duke vs. Michigan State
This was the most hyped up matchup of the day, with the top 2 teams in the country facing off against each other. I thought this game lived up, even when potential number one pick in next year's draft in Marvin Bagley III went out for the game early with a painful looking eye injury. Duke controlled the glass in this one, out-rebounding Michigan St 46-34 and also won the the turnover battle, forcing 17 and making only 9. I was really surprised by the turnover numbers particularly, as Duke has a really young team, with two young guards, Gary Trent, Jr. and Trevon Duval, who I figured would be prone to making turnovers, to go along with Grayson Allen, who has averaged at least 2 turnovers a game in back to back seasons. Allen was really impressive scoring the basketball, and was basically unstoppable scoring the basketball at times, but his 37 point game was inflated by some late game free throws and a couple of poor defensive plays by MSU that left him wide open. If Duke is going to be a final four team, Allen needs to contribute not only on nights where he is on fire, but also on nights when his shots aren't falling. He had just 1 steal, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while playing 40 minutes, and is not known as a great defender, so on nights where he can't score, he won't do anything to help the team win. Duval had a huge game as well, with 17 points, 10 assists and 6 steals, and is clearly a high volume player (took 20 shots!). His defense was fantastic all game long, putting tons of pressure on MSU PG Cassius Winston, but he needs to take less shots. Overall though, it was a very impressive win for Duke, beating the number 2 team in the country without maybe their best player in Bagley.
I know Tom Izzo will bring his Spartans around. Jaren Jackson, Jr. looked fantastic, and so did Nick Ward. Izzo needs to find a way to get Ward more minutes tho, as he is averaging 17.5 PPG in only 17.0 minutes per game, an absolutely ridiculous points per minute number. If conditioning is really the issue for Ward, that is pretty pitful. What did he do all summer if he can't run up and down the court for more than 18 minutes (as he did against Duke)? Miles Bridges also needs to mature and prove that all that hype is real.
Kansas vs. Kentucky
This game was very low scoring, partially due to good defense, but also due to terrible shooting. Kansas shot just 35.3 percent from the field and still managed to win. None of their 4 starting guards could score consistently, which was a major problem because they were missing big man Billy Preston, who is probably their top interior player. Just like Duke, they won without a stud, but this win was much uglier, as Kansas's starting lineup played a ridiculous amount of minutes, with the bench playing only 25. Their starting five had to be tired, which is a big reason why they shot so poorly, but depth will still be an issue when (or if?) they get Preston back from his ineligibility issues. I thought Kevin Knox looked awesome for Kentucky, clearly their best player and probably the best in the game, showing an inside out game that was tough for Kansas to stop. The rest of their freshman were pretty disappointing though offensively, and are going to need to step up big time if Kentucky wants to have another great season. There is a lot less talent at the top on this Knetucky team than there has been in past years, so they're going to need to hurt teams with their depth, where they go 9 strong.
Overall, another great Champions Classic, which is in general the type of early season showdown that is great for the sport of college basketball.
This was the most hyped up matchup of the day, with the top 2 teams in the country facing off against each other. I thought this game lived up, even when potential number one pick in next year's draft in Marvin Bagley III went out for the game early with a painful looking eye injury. Duke controlled the glass in this one, out-rebounding Michigan St 46-34 and also won the the turnover battle, forcing 17 and making only 9. I was really surprised by the turnover numbers particularly, as Duke has a really young team, with two young guards, Gary Trent, Jr. and Trevon Duval, who I figured would be prone to making turnovers, to go along with Grayson Allen, who has averaged at least 2 turnovers a game in back to back seasons. Allen was really impressive scoring the basketball, and was basically unstoppable scoring the basketball at times, but his 37 point game was inflated by some late game free throws and a couple of poor defensive plays by MSU that left him wide open. If Duke is going to be a final four team, Allen needs to contribute not only on nights where he is on fire, but also on nights when his shots aren't falling. He had just 1 steal, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while playing 40 minutes, and is not known as a great defender, so on nights where he can't score, he won't do anything to help the team win. Duval had a huge game as well, with 17 points, 10 assists and 6 steals, and is clearly a high volume player (took 20 shots!). His defense was fantastic all game long, putting tons of pressure on MSU PG Cassius Winston, but he needs to take less shots. Overall though, it was a very impressive win for Duke, beating the number 2 team in the country without maybe their best player in Bagley.
I know Tom Izzo will bring his Spartans around. Jaren Jackson, Jr. looked fantastic, and so did Nick Ward. Izzo needs to find a way to get Ward more minutes tho, as he is averaging 17.5 PPG in only 17.0 minutes per game, an absolutely ridiculous points per minute number. If conditioning is really the issue for Ward, that is pretty pitful. What did he do all summer if he can't run up and down the court for more than 18 minutes (as he did against Duke)? Miles Bridges also needs to mature and prove that all that hype is real.
Kansas vs. Kentucky
This game was very low scoring, partially due to good defense, but also due to terrible shooting. Kansas shot just 35.3 percent from the field and still managed to win. None of their 4 starting guards could score consistently, which was a major problem because they were missing big man Billy Preston, who is probably their top interior player. Just like Duke, they won without a stud, but this win was much uglier, as Kansas's starting lineup played a ridiculous amount of minutes, with the bench playing only 25. Their starting five had to be tired, which is a big reason why they shot so poorly, but depth will still be an issue when (or if?) they get Preston back from his ineligibility issues. I thought Kevin Knox looked awesome for Kentucky, clearly their best player and probably the best in the game, showing an inside out game that was tough for Kansas to stop. The rest of their freshman were pretty disappointing though offensively, and are going to need to step up big time if Kentucky wants to have another great season. There is a lot less talent at the top on this Knetucky team than there has been in past years, so they're going to need to hurt teams with their depth, where they go 9 strong.
Overall, another great Champions Classic, which is in general the type of early season showdown that is great for the sport of college basketball.
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