Kentucky, Michigan State, Duke and Kansas on exact same floor in
It’s not the main start to the guys’s college basketball season this year, but the Champions Classic will still feature the very first marquee game of the campaign– and a top-level undercard.As always, the
event– happening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this season– will include 4 of the most successful programs in college basketball history: Kentucky vs. Michigan State at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, followed by Duke vs. Kansas at 9:30 p.m. ET. Both games will air on ESPN.Because it’s being
staged in the 2nd week of the season, each group already has 80 minutes of basketball under its belt; therefore, we have some game analysis and data indicate offer insight into all 4 squads.Here are four
things we’re watching for on Tuesday night:
New Look, Exact Same Traditional
The 2022 State Farm Champions Classic
Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, INKentucky vs Michigan State (7PM ET, ESPN)
Duke vs Kansas (9:30 PM ET, ESPN) pic.twitter.com/YCGPJNjF1t!.?.!— State Farm Champions Classic(@championclassic)September 7, 2022 The ruling agreement national player of the year underwent a knee treatment in October and didn’t play in Kentucky’s first 2 games of the season. The timeline for his return has actually been unclear, with the school continuing to call him daily. Without Tshiebwe, coach John Calipari used Lance Ware in the starting lineup, and the New Jersey local has offered physicality and defense in the post. However it’s likewise offered Kentucky an opportunity to give freshman Ugonna Onyenso a prolonged look, and he has reacted with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks in 39 total minutes of action.Michigan State: Was the Spartans’ efficiency vs. Gonzaga an indication of things to come?
For 25 minutes on Friday, Michigan State appeared like a vintage Tom Izzo group. The Spartans were more physical and more aggressive than Gonzaga, bullied the Bulldogs in the paint and were opportunistic in shift off turnovers. Foul difficulty eventually became a concern, and Gonzaga calmed down with a smaller sized lineup and came back to win. However the Spartans looked much better than anticipated so early in the season. Can they continue to show that pledge against Kentucky? Mady Sissoko outplayed Drew Timme in the first half, finishing with 14 points and 9 boards, and Sissoko will require to be as much as the task once again if Tshiebwe suits up. Tyson Walker and A.J. Hoggard played complimentary and positive, and Malik Hall looked like a prospective go-to guy.Duke: What does a totally healthy Blue Devils frontcourt look like?
In the first 2 games, Duke played huge, with 6-foot-8 Mark Mitchell at the little forward spot, 7-footer Kyle Filipowski at the 4 and 6-foot-10 Northwestern transfer Ryan Young at the center position. And now Jon Scheyer has the services of former No. 1 hire Dereck Lively II, who missed out on the opening game due to injury however played 15 minutes against South Carolina Upstate on Friday. Eventually, projected draft lotto choice Dariq Whitehead will return and push for a beginning area on the wing, although that’s not likely to take place Tuesday. But with Kansas playing little lineups early in the season, will the Blue Devils continue to use so much measure front? And offered the lack of boundary depth, do they have an option?
So far, the response is a definite yes. But the competitors will take a step up Tuesday night. Wilson, who opened his Kansas profession back in 2020 with 23 points versus Kentucky and 23 points versus Creighton, has actually primarily struggled for consistency in the two seasons given that. But with the departures of Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, Expense Self (and acting head coach Norm Roberts) required a go-to scorer on the offensive end, and Wilson has actually reacted. He had 19 points and 11 boards in the opener and followed with 21 and 9 on Thursday while shooting 6-for-13 from 3. Wilson will require to keep it up against Duke.