(2) Kentucky 74, (5) Duke 63
In an early season battle of top-5 programs, Kentucky was able to handle Duke. In this year’s kick-off game to the State Farm Champions Classic, Kentucky looked like the far superior team and were led by the scoring of guards Tyler Ulis (18 Pts) and Jamal Murray (16 Pts). Ulis, the second year point guard, also contributed 6 assists and 4 rebounds and is the early season catalyst of this young Wildcats team. The veteran frontcourt presence of Senior Alex Poythress and Junior Marcus Lee helped Kentucky remain on-top throughout the contest.
Even with the tough loss, Duke looks like a solid team that will improve as the season goes on. Amile Jefferson (16 Pts, 15 Reb) had a monster game and Marshall Plumlee was also able to post a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The two Senior forwards were the strong spot on a primarily bad night for the Blue Devils. Junior guard Matt Jones was also able to contribute 16 points in the losing effort. Duke desperately needs a true point guard as Derryck Thornton is clearly not yet ready and Grayson Allen struggled to get his shot off against a tough Kentucky defense.
(4) Kansas 73, Michigan State 79This was a highly competitive game between two historic programs and was clearly the better game of the two Champions Classic match-ups. Both Kansas and Michigan State look like they will contend for conference championships and could be poised for deep tournament runs.
Senior forward Perry Ellis and the Kansas Jayhawks started off strong and were able to get off to an early 28-15 lead. But Michigan State stuck around and went on a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 6 at the half. After halftime Denzel Valentine really came alive. Valentine is a coaches’ dream and has a tremendous all around skill set. He posted a massive 29 point, 11 rebound, 12 assist triple double (1st of his career).
Kansas controlled the pace for the majority of the contest, but let the game get away from them. With 4:49 left in the game, Valentine hit a three to put MSU up 65-64, their first lead since 6-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half. After a back and forth final 5 minutes, Valentine proved to be too much for the Jayhawks. Perry Ellis posted a team high 21 points for Kansas and Freshman Matt McQuaid provided 9 points on 3-3 shooting from deep for MSU, including a clutch corner jumper to put the Spartans up 75-71 with 55 seconds remaining.
(3) Maryland 75, Georgetown 71
This game needs to be played every year. After watching the less than thrilling Kentucky, Duke match-up the Maryland, Georgetown game did not disappoint. The crowd was incredible and you can tell this is a true rivalry, despite the teams rarely facing each other. I can’t say enough about Maryland’s crowd last night.
Georgetown brought their A-game and nearly pulled off the top-5 road upset. It was an all-around team effort for Georgetown, with all five starters scoring in double digits. It was the inside presence of Hayes and the three-point shooting of Derrickson in the first half, with D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera keeping them in it until the end.
Eventually Maryland played up to their potential and were able to take a 71-68 lead off a Sulaimon three with 1:20 remaining in the game. Maryland never looked back and was able to close out the game with four consecutive made free throws by Melo Trimble. Trimble finished with a game high 24 points and was 13-18 from the charity stripe. Trimble is one of the best players in college basketball and will be a candidate for this year’s Naismith Award. Layman added 15 points and Carter finished with 12. Sulaimon could be the difference for Maryland in the BIG10 this year. The Duke transfer contributed 10 points and 7 assists while attempting only 6 shots.
Grayson Gold-Garvey, Follow on twitter, @TheGraygo
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