Last Updated 12:38 AM, November 15, 2023

Kansas' Dickinson, Duke's Foster show out in 2023 Champions Classic

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25:04
5:05 am, November 15, 2023

🔄 Recapping a wild Champions Classic

🤯 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 3-17 from beyond the arc. The Jayhawks shot 53.6% from the field in the second half 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 notched a triple-double, dishing out 10 assists while putting up 12 points and grabbing 10 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.

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😈 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.  

4:42 am, November 15, 2023

😮‍💨 Jayhawks pull off the dub

Despite trailing by as much as nine points, Kansas rallied behind career performances by Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar to rout the young Kentucky squad, 89-84.

4:13 am, November 15, 2023

Kansas on a run 🏃‍♂️

The Jayhawks scored seven unanswered to bring them within four of Kentucky with 12 minutes left in regulation. The run was punctuated by an alley-oop dunker by KJ Adams Jr. from a Kevin McCullar lob. 

3:28 am, November 15, 2023

🔷 Kentucky flips the switch, takes 7pt lead at half

To overcome their early 0-9 deficit, the Wildcats took good looks behind the stripe and sped up their transition during the latter half of the period. So far, Kentucky has buried nine threes — the third-most for a first-half Kentucky team — at a 39% clip. 

Perhaps the biggest contribution came from Kentucky first year Rob Dillingham, who knocked down a massive 16 points and shot 80% from three. Adou Thiero is on track for his first double-double of his career with 13 points and eight boards going into the half.

John Calipari circulated through his bench with seven different point scorers and 22 bench points. 

A last-second three-point jumper by Hunter Dickinson cut Kentucky's lead to seven as the Wildcats lead 48-41 heading into the final 20 — likely en route to triple-digit scoring.

3:00 am, November 15, 2023

👌🏼 Reed Sheppard perfect from downtown

An 8-0 Kentucky streak tightened up the score, largely at the hand of perimeter sharpshooters Reed Sheppard (2-2), Adou Thiero and Tre Mitchell. Kentucky tied the score briefly before Kansas responded, and the Jayhawks lead 23-19 with just shy of eight minutes left in the first.

2:49 am, November 15, 2023

💥 Jayhawks on hot streak

Kansas began the game on a 9-0 run behind Dajuan Harris Jr.'s early triple and a pair of Elmarko Jackson free throws, now shooting 50% from the field.

2:02 am, November 15, 2023

💪 Caleb Foster sparks Duke to late second-half run, defeats Michigan State 74-65

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.  

Up next in Chicago — No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 17 Kentucky. 

1:43 am, November 15, 2023

😤 Tyson Walker goes off, cuts Duke's lead to 3

Michigan State's star point guard nails back-to-back threes to cut Duke's lead to just three. 51-48 with just over eight minutes to play — don't miss this finish. 

1:37 am, November 15, 2023

😲 Duke bites back

The Blue Devils use a 15-9 run to back up double-digits halfway through the second half. Duke has three players scoring in double-digits thus far with Tyrese Proctor (10 points), Kyle Filipowski (10 points) and Caleb Foster (12 points) leading the way. 

1:20 am, November 15, 2023

⚔️ Michigan State climbs back in it

The Spartans go on a 11-4 run to cut Duke's lead to 35-31. Malik Hall continues to lead the charge for Michigan State as he now has 12 points. Tom Izzo's squad hopes to take this momentum throughout the second half, and so does Magic.

 

12:55 am, November 15, 2023

😈 Duke takes double-digit lead into halftime

After a slow start to the game, Duke picked up the pace as they have attacked the paint and took advantage of trips to the free throw line. The Blue Devils are 11-13 from the stripe, igniting Duke's 12-2 run to end the half. 

Michigan State, on the other hand, is settling for long-range jump shots — shooting 2-13 from three-point land and only has visited the line twice, where the Spartans are 0-2. MSU will look to attack the paint in the second half, specifically Duke's star Kyle Filipowski who committed two early fouls in the first half. 

Duke's Mark Mitchell leads all scorers with nine points, while Michigan State has evenly distributed the scoring duties across the team with Malik Hall still leading Sparty with just five points. 

12:21 am, November 15, 2023

🫥 Low scoring affair to start the first half

Duke and Michigan State are locked at 9 with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. Michigan State's Malik Hall leads all scores with five points, while star forward Kyle Filipowski leads Duke with four points.