Michigan State and Kansas emerged victorious at the Champions Classic Tuesday night in Chicago, but the big overall winner was college basketball. It’s hard for college basketball to grab headlines and get the attention of the sporting public at this time of the year. But the two winning teams, along with Kentucky, Duke and the outstanding cast of freshmen who played in the national spotlight, gave college hoops a much needed lift in two big-time games.
Honestly, I’ve been covering college basketball for 35 years and I can’t remember such a dazzling display of talent as early as Nov. 12. It was exciting, riveting, and full of promise for the upcoming season.
According to ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz, the Kentucky-Michigan State game was ESPN’s highest rated November game on record for college basketball, based on records that go back to 2002. It delivered a 2.6 overnight ranking.
If those four teams end up at the Final Four in North Texas, we will all be in for another treat. And yet these teams will evolve over the next few months and grow into different squads. Hard to imagine they can be better, but they should be by that time.
Coaches Tom Izzo, Bill Self, Mike Krzyzewski and John Calipari took their teams to United Center for a learning experience and college basketball fans were schooled in what to watch for this season. If you are avid followers of the game, it came as no surprise that freshmen were the focus. But the way Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins and Julius Randle handled that pressure was almost beyond belief.
A few observations from the Champions Classic:
MICHIGAN STATE: The Spartans will be the new No. 1 team when the next rankings are released. Not that it matters at this stage of the season, but Izzo’s No. 2 Spartans knocked off the consensus No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats 78-74 and that will bump them to the top. Michigan State, the only one of the four teams not relying on a stud freshman, showed the value of experience on the way to leads of 10-0, 12-3 and finally 44-32 at halftime. In the second half, the Spartans showed the resolve to hold off the young and athletic Kentucky squad. The real eye-opener was Michigan State’s ability to get out and run. Izzo hasn’t had a transition team like this in years. Kentucky had 24 turnovers and Michigan State quickly – and I meet track relay team quick – turned those mistakes into baskets. Keith Appling (22 points), Gary Harris (20), Branden Dawson (8 points, 9 rebounds) and Adreian Payne (15 points) form the nucleus but guard Denzel Valentine (5 points, 5 assists) was impressive too. Izzo has had some teams in recent years that teased Sparty fans and fell short. I don’t think there’s any tease here. This is a very good team.
KENTUCKY: No surprise that the young Wildcats were a bit jittery at the start. And no surprise that Calipari was able to light a fire at halftime and get his players to take care of business in the second half. Julius Randle was so impressive with his powerful game within 12 feet of the basket. Randle (27 points, 13 rebounds) is incredibly strong and will face a lot of double team defensive sets this season. But when Michigan State triple-teamed him, Randle still was able to wiggle free and a hit a short jumper in the lane. Randle was 9-for-14 from the field, but he hurt Kentucky with eight turnovers, four fouls and six missed free throws. Michigan State teams don’t lose the battle on the boards very often, but Kentucky outrebounded the Spartans 44-32. That’s a pretty good sign for Calipari’s team. Kentucky would’ve won with a slightly better free throw percentage, but 55.6 (20 of 36) won’t cut it. Freshmen twins Aaron (3 points) and Andrew Harrison (11 points) didn’t impact the game but once they make their adjustments to the college game that should change.
KANSAS: If the experts didn’t consider the Jayhawks a national championship contender before, they might now after a 94-83 victory over Duke. The funny part of that is that reports out of Chicago indicate Wiggins – after all his preseason hype – was viewed as the No. 3 freshman prospect on the floor by about 70 NBA executives in attendance. Not sure when those surveys were taken but Wiggins (22 points, eight rebounds) left his imprint on the game at the end with his step back jumper and a fastbreak dunk after a Perry Ellis steal. Wiggins seemed to get more involved in the game when he started guarding Duke’s Jabari Parker. I tweeted this during the game, but I can’t believe Ellis was left off the preseason watch list for the John Wooden Award. Ellis, a sophomore, is the best player on the Kansas roster right now. He had 24 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists against Duke. The Jayhawks have a great recruiting class but to overlook Ellis is a big mistake. He is poised, confident and plays the game the right way. Wayne Selden, Jr. (15 points) was outstanding and I predict Frank Mason eventually will eventually replace Naadir Tharpe as KU’s starting point guard. Self has remarkable depth on this team and he’s not going to be afraid to use it.
DUKE: Jabari Parker played 33 minutes, scored 27 points, had nine rebounds, one assist and two steals. At times he seemed un-guardable and it will look that way more often than not over the course of the season. Parker is fundamentally sound, athletic, and knows how to control his body. He may end up being the first pick in the NBA but it will be a simple matter of the team’s preference. Parker may put up some gaudy numbers. Against Kansas, he could have used a lot more help from his Duke teammates. Rasheed Sulaimon (13 points) provided some offensive spark late in the game. Rodney Hood will grow into his role and be a fine addition to the Blue Devils. Coach K has assembled a talented team capable of winning a national championship – but you could say that of all four Champions Classic teams.
MARATHON RAMBLINGS: With the exception of about six hours of sleep Monday night, I did nothing but watch college basketball from 3 p.m. Monday until almost 1 a.m. Wednesday. On Monday, I attended men’s and women’s home games for Connecticut. The men beat Yale and the top-ranked UConn women defeated No. 3 Stanford. . . . Had planned to drive up to Amherst, Mass., to see LSU play UMass but a poorly timed storm that made roads slippery in Connecticut turned that into a risk I decided not to take. As a result I watched all or part of nine games during ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon Tuesday, starting with New Mexico State at Hawaii and ending with the Kansas win over Duke. . . . Center Sim Bhullar of New Mexico State caught my eye at 6:30 a.m. Not sure I’ve seen a bigger college basketball player. Bhullar is 7-foot-5 and 360 pounds. The sophomore from Toronto doesn’t pose like a statue on the floor. He had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in 30 minutes as the Aggies won 95-88 in Honolulu. It’s safe to say the Aggies will have a size advantage all season. . . . Joe Dooley, the former Kansas assistant who replaced Andy Enfield at Florida Gulf Coast, got in the face of Chase Fieler and challenged his leadership ability in practice the other day. Gotta love the way Fieler responded, scoring a career-high 30 points to lead the Eagles to a 65-51 win over Hartford. Fieler scored 20 of those points in the second half and had three dunks for the Dunk City boys who were a Sweet 16 team in last year’s NCAA tournament. . . .Hartford and Quinnipiac both hit the road for early morning games during the Marathon. Quinnipiac lost at LaSalle, another Sweet 16 team last year, 73-67. Can’t help but respect the effort by both, as they played so early on the road. . . . LSU and UMass both look like NCAA tournament teams at this stage of the season. UMass held off the Tigers for a 92-90 win in an exciting finish. Too bad LSU freshman Jarell Martin limped off the court just 33 seconds into his first college game and didn’t return. Chaz Williams looked terrific with 24 points for UMass. . . . My buddy Tim Welsh, the former Providence College coach, had a great gig this week, calling Kent State’s 81-77 upset of Temple in Philadelphia Tuesday night and then sticking in the City of Brotherly Love for the Quinnipiac-LaSalle game the next morning. Welsh was a busy guy, but he had a driver to handle the traffic in Philly. He even took a spin over to Geno’s Steaks for one of the best cheesesteaks in the city. No wonder Timmy decided broadcasting is the best career option for him right now. . . . And just in case you missed this last Friday night, No. 17 Marquette beat Southern 63-56 in the opener for both. The Golden Eagles scored 33 of their 63 points from the free throw line. Marquette hit 33 of 53 free throw attempts and made just 13 of 36 field goal attempts. Southern was called for 34 fouls but went 6 of 16 from the line. Love this quote from Marquette coach Buzz Williams in the Associated Press story: “Those officials are just like us, that’s just their mode of trying to make a living,” Williams said. “When your boss says write a 1,500-word blog, then you’re going to write a 1,500-word blog. It’s not an emphasis anymore; it’s a rule. And it goes back to kind of how we were all taught to play: you play with your feet, not your hands. So it’s fairly explicit now. When you’re hands get involved, it’s a foul.”
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