College basketball kicked off last night with most eyes trained on the Champions Classic with the battle of the blue bloods taking center stage. Kansas took care of Michigan State fairly easily in the opening game showing that Izzo will need to make some miracles happen if his team is gonna make a run this season. After a rare disappointing season for both Kentucky and Duke last year, they both were determined to come out swinging. Both teams played a fast paced game. Kentucky played from behind for most of the game as Duke and their highly touted freshman continued to draw calls and got to the line shooting 23 free throws to Kentucky’s measly 7.
Duke struggled from three all night going 1 for 13 so the win is even more impressive considering. Kentucky and West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe in particular destroyed the glass, especially on the offensive side of the ball getting 19 offensive rebounds and 44 total.
Duke’s freshman star Paolo Banchero proved to be everything he was promised to be scoring 22 points in his debut in 31 minutes despite going out multiple times for cramping. He is 6’10, 250 and is as skilled with the ball as Duke hoped he would be. His mid range jumper is a sight to behold and he can open up the lane. He will be making a case for pick 1 in the draft in June and his debut was a hell of an opening argument. As good as Banchero was, he wasn’t even the most impressive player in a Duke jersey last night. Trevor Keels scored 25 minutes tying Marvin Bagley for third most points scored in a debut behind only Zion and RJ Barrett. He attacked the paint with a huge amount of control and made impressive passes under pressure. He was able to handle Kentucky’s freshman star, Tyty Washington holding him to only
9 points. He was impressive on both sides of the ball and played better as the lights got brighter.
Kentucky shot some big time 3 point shots to keep themselves within striking distance but it wasn’t enough. Wendell Moore showed a lot of growth and looked way more poised mid range. Mark Williams showed his ACC tournament performance last season was no fluke providing a necessary presence in the paint getting big blocks and rebounds when needed the most. Theo John had a great defensive performance and will give meaningful minutes off the bench for this team. AJ Griffin came off the bench and as he gets even healthier and plays his own game can help this team get even more offensive fire power. Roach looked more comfortable in his sophomore season debut.
This Duke team is very different from a typical Duke team, especially last years. They have a lot of chemistry and they look like they are having a lot of fun again. Coach K has a great group to coach his final year. They are a very deep team that can play on both sides of the ball and they will only improve as the season goes on. College basketball, Duke is back.
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