RADIO
Week 2 of the college basketball season brings some elite matchups every year. CBB fans can always count on the Champions Classic providing some early-season fireworks, with four of the sport’s best programs going at it - Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Kansas.
These weren’t the only big matchups of note, as the Gavitt Tipoff Games (Big East vs. Big Ten) also produced an electric battle with No. 4 Marquette traveling to Champaign to face No. 23 Illinois.
Here are some notes, quotes, and quick reactions to a great night of college basketball.
Duke's Going To Be Alright, Michigan State Might Be In Trouble
Both of these preseason squads were coming off a loss, but it was the Blue Devils who emerged victorious in the first game of the Champions Classic in Chicago yesterday, 74-65. Preseason First-team All-American forward Kyle Filipowski had 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
While it was a great win for Duke, what stood out the most to me is how discombobulated the Spartans looked on offense for large portions of the game. Duke had eight turnovers in the first ten minutes of the game, and the score was tied 9-9. The inability of Tom Izzo’s squad to capitalize on these major opportunities ended up dooming them in this one. Without Tyson Walker (22 points, led all scorers) going hero mode and pulling this game within reach in the second half, it would’ve been a 20-point blowout. Senior G AJ Hoggard didn’t show up yet again as well, going 1-8 on the day, but did save himself with 8 assists.
Hoggard’s offensive output through three games: nine, four, and two points scored. For being the second member of one of the so-called best backcourts in the country, this is unacceptable, which both Hoggard himself and Izzo agreed on after the game.
“As A.J. said it, and he said it best, if he's going to go 1-8, and Jaden [Akins], we're 5-19 with those two guys, it's not going to win any games, not going to win enough games.”
This Michigan State team surprisingly has a lot to figure out after returning four of their top five scorers from the Sweet 16 run a year ago.
Duke on the other hand didn't play great, but that is a testament to how good this team is. They have a lot of guys who can contribute on any given night. Tyrese Proctor struggled to score again (4-13, 13 points) but did have six dimes and zero turnovers. Senior leader Jeremy Roach only took five shots and scored seven points, but made his presence felt on the defensive end. Top-10 freshman SG Jared McCain put up a goose-egg but was saved by one of his fellow underclassmen (see below).
MVP: Duke freshman G Caleb Foster was 1-3 from deep through two games, but came into the United Center and drained 4-5 three-pointers. The Harrisburg, NC native came out of nowhere to lead the team in scoring with 18 points off the bench.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was singing Foster’s praises postgame.
“What Caleb did tonight - It won us the game. It says a lot about him. As a freshman, being in this environment, this moment. Not just the points - his defense, his rebounding, his passing, I just thought it was a big-time response.”
Kentucky Is Going To Be Very Good By March And Kansas is Kansas Yet Again.
Hand up. I was one of those people that thought Kansas would win by 15. In the first four minutes of the game with Kansas up 11-3 and Kentucky looking scrambled, it seemed like this was going to be the inevitable result. Give Kentucky all the credit in the world. They fought about as hard as they could, but ultimately fell just short, losing 84-89.
The Wildcats felt like that team in gym class that tries way harder than everyone else and the rest of the class just sits there pissed off at them. Except in this setting, it’s acceptable. That’s how much energy the Wildcats had, and it helped them gobble up 15 offensive boards, including six by sophomore guard Adou Thiero, who had this nasty left-handed putback slam.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Rob Dillingham’s first half. The freshman point guard from Atlanta, GA was NBA Jam scorching, hitting 4-5 from deep, which all came in a two-minute stretch. Like Tyrese Maxey before him - who dropped 26 in this event on No. 1 MSU four years prior - Dillingham put the industry on notice. He ended up fouling out late in the second half but this was an incredible start for the young point guard, who got no help offensively from the supposed gems of this No. 1 freshman class (No. 3 Justin Edwards, 0-6, 1 point and No. 4 DJ Wagner 1-12, four points).
Coach Cal seemed positive after the game. "I was proud of them. Robert [Dillingham] went on a run, guys that didn’t play well offensively rebounded and defended pretty good."
While Dillingham’s performance was a surprise to many, Hunter Dickinson’s was not. The former Michigan big man was dominant with 27 points and 21 rebounds, but it was honestly one of the quietest 20-20 games I’ve ever seen if that’s even possible. The No. 1 transfer was unstoppable around the rim, grabbing offensive boards and fighting through double teams, but it never seemed like he truly took the game over which is what his stat line would suggest. It's worth noting that the Wildcats were without three of their big men who are expected to play big minutes this year, one of them being top-six recruit Aaron Bradshaw. Dickinson wasted no time in exploiting his advantage inside.
Dickinson wasn’t the only Jayhawk who had a monster night, though. Junior point guard Dajuan Harris exploded for a career-high 23 points on 5-6 from three. The 2023 Big-12 defensive player of the year has always been a pass-first floor general, having scored TWO total points on the season heading into this game, but he was much more aggressive offensively last night and it paid off big time. Harris always makes sure his team gets the best shot possible, and that’s a primary reason why he is one of the best point guards in America. He shot when his defender ducked a screen, had timely dribble-drive scores, and dished when appropriate (seven assists). It was a career night for Harris, who is going to cause some migraines for opposing coaches trying to prepare for this Kansas team.
Senior guard/forward Kevin McCullar Jr. also had the sneakiest triple double you'll ever see, with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. He doesn't quite have the ability that some of the recent great Kansas wings did before him (Ochai Agbaji & Jalen Wilson) but the former Texas Tech Red Raider affects the game in so many ways and can be a go-to guy for Bill Self when he needs to be.
While Kansas is the better team and won the game, they outright stole this one. Kentucky was leading for most of the second half but faltered down the stretch. Part of the reason for this was fifth-year SG Antonio Reeves jacking up a couple of inadvertent threes in the last few minutes that led to empty possessions and allowed Kansas to pull ahead. Reeves actually went 0-5 from three in the game's final two-and-a-half minutes (3-17 in the game!), and maybe one of those shots was a good look. It was an unfortunate end to a great effort from Kentucky, who could have won that game if not for Reeves trying to singlehandedly shoot them to victory.
Cal spoke about closing games during the post-game presser.
“I’ve got to do a really good job of showing these guys how to finish games. Part of it is who should be in when you're finishing the game. If you’re going to miss five straight shots at the end of the game, you can’t be in then. Somebody else has got to be in.”
All in all, another entertaining Champions Classic in the books. It never disappoints.
Marquette Is Not Overrated
There’s been quite a lot of noise about the Golden Eagles being undeserving of their No. 4 preseason ranking early on. Marquette found themselves on numerous overrated teams lists, to start the season. Lest we forget, this team was a dominant force last year, taking both the Big East regular season and conference titles, and finishing 10th in KenPom’s rankings. And return almost everyone of note.
They proved the doubters wrong on Tuesday night. Shaka Smart and Co. came into a very hostile Assembly Hall and handled a favored Illinois squad (-1.5) on Tuesday, 71-64. Preseason First-Team All-American G Tyler Kolek - who was a game-time decision due to an ankle injury - dominated with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. His fingerprints were once again all over this one, making countless heads-up plays that only he seems to make on a nightly basis. The ability of this Marquette team to spread you out and attack from all angles is so hard to defend. Kam Jones, the Robin to Kolek’s Batman, has one of the smoothest shots in all of college basketball but also made some phenomenal finishes around the rim. While Marquette did lose to Michigan State in the tournament last year, you cannot convince me that this backcourt isn’t better than Hoggard and Walker. I would love to see those two teams go head-to-head again.
As for the lllini, they are definitely one of the best teams in what looks like a slightly weak Big Ten, but they will need more out of their stretch big man Coleman Hawkins who was 2-9 in this one. G/F Marcus Domask may be their second-leading scorer if Hawkins isn’t able to finally grow into his potential.
Other notable results from the night:
- USC (-11.5) shocked by UC Irvine, 70-60
- Providence (+1.5) bests Wisconsin, 72-59
- Creighton (-12.5) downs Iowa, 92-84
- Texas A&M (-5.5) over SMU, 79-66
- Ole Miss (-23.5) barely squeaks past Detroit, 70-69
- Northwestern (-23.5) beats Western Michigan, 63-59
- Georgia Tech (-4.5) loses to UMass Lowell, 74-71
- Santa Clara (+8.5) over Stanford, 89-77
