Champions Classic Shines Light On Men’s College Basketball Season

The men’s college basketball season began on Nov. 4 with dozens of games. Since then, there have been some intriguing moments such as then-No. 6 Gonzaga blowing out No. 8 Baylor by 38 points on opening night, Columbia pulling off an upset victory over Villanova and 7-foot-1 Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner scoring 49 points on 20 of 22 shooting and showing he could be a national player of the year candidate.

Still, the NFL and college football are in full swing, leaving other sports to fend for national attention. On Tuesday, though, college basketball will be in the spotlight when four of the nation’s most prestigious programs meet in a doubleheader in Atlanta. No. 1 Kansas plays unranked Michigan State in the first game at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by No. 19 Kentucky against No. 6 Duke. Each team is 2-0 this season.

Those four teams have been part of the Champions Classic since it started in 2011. The event is owned and operated by ESPN’s events division, so the games are broadcast on the main ESPN network in primetime and receive more attention than usual for this time of year. This is the eighth time a No. 1 ranked team will compete in the event

Since the event began, Kentucky (2012), Duke (2015) and Kansas (2022) have won national titles, while Michigan State made the Final Four in 2015 and 2019. During that time, Kansas and Kentucky have each made two other Final Fours and Duke has made one other Final Four, so chances are one or more of these teams could be in the mix for a deep run in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Five freshmen who competed in the Champions Classic were the top overall selection in the following June’s NBA draft: Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012), Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins (2014), Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Duke’s Zion Williamson (2019) and Duke’s Paolo Banchero (2022). Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and preseason All-American, could join them.

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Below, we preview what to look for from these teams on Tuesday and beyond.

No. 1 Kansas Vs. Michigan State

For the second consecutive year, Kansas entered the season No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. The Jayhawks didn’t live up to expectations last year, finishing tied for fifth in the Big 12 Conference and losing to Gonzaga by 21 points in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Still, they have three starters back and added a few top transfers, leading to pundits picking them atop the preseason rankings.

Kansas passed its first difficult test last Friday, defeating then-No. 9 North Carolina, 92-89, at Allen Fieldhouse as coach Bill Self tied Phog Allen for the most victories in the school’s history. The Jayhawks led by 20 points in the first half, but the Tar Heels came back and went ahead in the second half before KU rallied for the victory.

All-American center Hunter Dickinson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas, while fellow returning starter KJ Adams Jr. scored 14 points and South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo came off the bench and had a team-high 21 points and 4 assists. KU also had important contributions from the other returning starter, Dajuan Harris Jr. (10 points), as well as Wisconsin transfer AJ Storr (13 points in 28 minutes off the bench) and freshman reserve Flory Bidunga (8 points and 8 rebounds in 11 minutes).

At the Champions Classic, the Jayhawks will face a Michigan State team that is not receiving as much preseason hype as they usually do. The Spartans were fourth in last year’s AP preseason poll but finished sixth in the Big Ten and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. This year, the Spartans were unranked in the AP preseason poll and picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten in the league’s annual media poll.

So far, Michigan State has had easy home victories over Monmouth by 24 points and Niagara by 36 points. Jaden Akins, a senior guard and the only returning starter from a year ago, is leading the Spartans with 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Jaxon Kohler, who only averaged nine minutes in 21 games last season, is averaging 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game off the bench. The other starters are sophomores Xavier Booker and Jeremy Fears Jr. and transfers Szymon Zapala (Longwood University) and Frankie Fidler (University of Nebraska-Omaha).

Kansas and Michigan State have faced each other four times in the Champions Classic, with Michigan winning 67-64 in Atlanta in 2012 and 79-73 in Chicago in 2015 and Kansas winning 92-87 in Indianapolis in 2018 and 87-74 in New York in 2021.

No. 6 Duke Vs. No. 19 Kentucky

This game will likely center around two major story lines: Duke’s outstanding freshman class and how Kentucky will fare under first-year coach Mark Pope.

Flagg, a 6-foot-8 forward, enters college as the most hyped prospect in years. Flagg, who doesn’t turn 18 until December, impressed the U.S. Olympic team during scrimmages in July and is considered the top prospect in the 2025 NBA draft by ESPN and The Athletic. During Duke’s first two games, which were easy victories over Maine by 34 points and Army by 42 points, Flagg has averaged 15.5 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks and shown he’s an elite defender.

The Blue Devils have two other freshmen starters who could be lottery picks in next year’s draft, too, in guard Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach. Knueppel is averaging 18.5 points per game and shooting 56.5% from the field, including 7-of-14 on 3’s, while Maluach is averaging 8.5 points, 10 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in just 19.5 minutes per game. Starting guards Tyrese Proctor, a junior, and Caleb Foster, a sophomore, are also averaging in double figures. And transfer guard Sion James (Tulane) and transfer forward Mason Gillis (Purdue) should see significant playing time on Tuesday.

With Pope taking over for longtime coach John Calipari, Kentucky has completely revamped its roster. In fact, none of the players are back from last year’s Wildcats team that finished 23-10 and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament, hastening Calipari’s departure to Arkansas.

Kentucky starts five transfers in guards Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Jaxson Robinson (BYU) and Lamont Butler (San Diego State) and forwards Amari Williams (Drexel) and Andrew Carr (Wake Forest). They also have other transfers who should make contributions this season, including guard Koby Brea (Dayton), who is averaging 19 points per game and shooting 83.3% (10 of 12) on 3’s; guard Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), who has 17 assists and just 3 turnovers in his first two games; and forward Ansley Almonor (Fairleigh Dickinson), who is averaging 10 points in just 13.5 minutes per game.

With so many new players, it may take a while for Kentucky to figure out how to play together against top teams such as Duke. But Pope, a former Kentucky player who coached at BYU the past five seasons, is a veteran coach known for his innovative offenses and should help the Wildcats improve as the season progresses.

Duke and Kentucky have played each other four times in the Champions Classic, with Kentucky winning 74-53 in Chicago 2015 and Duke winning 75-68 in Atlanta in 2012, 118-84 in Indianapolis in 2018 and 79-71 in New York in 2021.