The 16th edition of Champions Classic began with a top-five showdown between No. 2 Duke and No. 5 Michigan State. The Spartans started fast with suffocating defense, holding Duke to the lowest first-half field goal percentage of the Jon Scheyer era at 26%. Then preseason All-American Jeremy Fears Jr. took over in the second half offensively for MSU. His 17-point, 11-assist effort represented his 14th career double-double. Duke, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, did cut the lead to five with 13 second to go, but Michigan State held on to improve to 3-0.
It was all No. 15 Kansas in the nightcap against No. 24 Kentucky. Illinois transfer Tre White dropped a career-high 30 points, including 23 in the second half, for the Jayhawks and freshman Tyran Stokes added 23. On the other side, Kentucky suffered the fourth 20-point loss since Mark Pope took over as head coach in 2024.
ESPN's Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello break down what can we learned from each of the four teams, and NBA draft analyst Jeremy Woo also provides insight prospects who impressed.
Michigan State 79, Duke 73
What we learned about Michigan State: Fears entered the season as the preseason favorite to win the Wooden Award as national player of the year. In his first national showcase this season Tuesday, the elite point guard justified that status. He had eight assists in the first half, commanded a Michigan State offense that helped the Spartans maintain a double-digit lead for portions of the game and fueled a stifling defense that held the Blue Devils in check. This isn't a squad with some of the household names Michigan State teams have had in the past, but it's a group that held a team with five NBA prospects and the superior offense to a 25% shooting clip. Coach Tom Izzo's identity has always featured that bruising defensive style and a physical offense that can control the tempo. The Spartans, who had a 34-26 edge in paint points late in the game, won with those traits. If they can defend the way they did against the Blue Devils, play with offensive poise (39% from beyond the arc late in the second half) and follow the lead of the best point guard in the country, the Spartans can compete with Illinois for the Big Ten title and also make a lot of noise in March. Izzo's squad might not have a first-round prospect on its roster, but Fears put young players such as Cam Ward, Jasiah Jervis and Carlos Medlock Jr. -- all underclassmen -- in the right spots Tuesday night. What did we learn about Michigan State? That it hasn't received the buzz it deserves, which is often the case with Izzo's teams in November. That will change after this performance.
What we learned about Duke: Duke's pedigree and legacy helped Scheyer attract Cooper Flagg and Cameron Boozer, back-to-back Wooden Award winners in 2025 and 2026. They acted as the catalysts for a pair of squads to reach the Final Four and Elite Eight, respectively. This season's squad features more depth, but it also lacks a superstar of Flagg's and Boozer's caliber. You can chalk up Duke's underwhelming performance in the Champions Classic to a couple of factors. Its offensive inadequacy was contagious. The Blue Devils were 7-for-27 from the field in the first half, and they were scoring at a clip of just 78 points per 100 possessions. In ESPN's latest NBA mock draft, there are five Duke players listed among the top 100 prospects (Patrick Ngongba II, Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, John Blackwell and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje). That group finished 5-for-14 in the first half. Scheyer has enough talent to live up to this season's top-five preseason ranking, but to reach their ceiling, Scheyer will have to demand more cohesiveness against the top teams in the country. A season ago, this team could afford to miss shots because Cameron Boozer rarely did, but he's gone now. Yes, it's early. Blackwell excelled in the second half, but the margin for error for this season's Duke team could be smaller, if it can't fix some of Tuesday's mistakes. -- Medcalf
Scott's defense turns heads: This game was a coming-out party for a prospect who probably wasn't on the bingo card: Michigan State sophomore Jordan Scott. Though he scored only five points, he made a monstrous defensive impact, helping keep Duke from ever getting in a flow with his length and matchup versatility. With a throng of NBA executives looking on, his nine defensive rebounds, six blocks and two steals rang loud.
In a mucky game against a Duke team featuring several potential draft picks, Scott was the best wing on the floor. There's a pathway into a wide-open draft, if he can keep this up -- and display strides in his shooting game, where his mechanics need refining. Players take advantage of the Champions Classic stage every year, and Scott was a bright spot in an otherwise rough game for prospects. -- Woo
Kansas 89, Kentucky 69
What we learned about Kansas: If Kansas can keep White, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Melvin Council Jr. eligible -- and in Council's case, healthy once he returns from a broken foot -- the Jayhawks are talented and experienced enough to make a Final Four run. They were better than Kentucky in every facet Tuesday, and looked nearly impossible to defend when they went with the lineup of Taylen Kinney, Leroy Blyden Jr., White, Stokes and Kaufman-Renn. It's a group capable of grabbing a rebound and pushing the ball up the court at a rapid rate, and White and Stokes attack the rim with high-level aggression, especially in transition. In the half court, Stokes is a brutal matchup, and Kaufman-Renn can pick apart defenses from the top of the key.
Kansas outshot Kentucky from 3, making 10 to the Wildcats' four. The Jayhawks had 22 points off turnovers, compared to none for Kentucky, and they shared the ball incredibly well, dishing out 24 assists on 32 field goals. When Kansas' offense is firing on all cylinders, as it was Tuesday, it's fast-paced, unselfish and a nightmare to guard.
On top of that, Stokes has clearly added to his game. He buried four 3-pointers -- including a couple of catch-and-shoot 3s after strong off-ball movement -- to go with his bully-ball ability when driving to the rim. His 23-point effort was his best performance of the young season.
What we learned about Kentucky: There are issues at both ends of the court. At the top of that list is a need to get Milan Momcilovic more involved. The No. 1 player in the portal last spring, he had only three shots in the first half and four in the second, with the latter attempts mostly coming out of rhythm. At Iowa State last season, Momcilovic was at his best moving without the ball, seeing teammates draw attention from the defense then finding him for open perimeter shots. He simply didn't get enough touches against Kansas on Tuesday, finishing with five points on 2-for-7 shooting. Some of that is obviously on Momcilovic, but Kentucky's starting backcourt of Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins also combined for one assist and seven turnovers.
Defensively, Kentucky also wasn't good enough. The Wildcats failed to get back to defend in transition countless times, especially on turnovers. They struggled to keep Kansas out of the lane off the bounce and got absolutely torched by backdoor cuts and off-ball movement in the half court.
There's plenty of talent and depth on the Kentucky roster, and the bright spots Tuesday -- Diallo's scoring (24 points), Malachi Moreno's second half (finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) -- are worth noting. But the Wildcats need to be more disciplined on defense, and if they're forced to simply outscore teams, their best offensive player (Momcilovic) can't take only seven shots.
One more note: These are the types of losses Pope has to avoid to cool off his seat later in the season. Kentucky's Champions Classic loss to Michigan State last season led to Pope saying that his "message isn't resonating" and calling his team "really poorly coached." The Wildcats can't let this defeat domino with marquee nonconference games still to come against Indiana, Virginia, Louisville and North Carolina. -- Borzello
Stokes is who NBA scouts hoped he'd be: Putting it simply, projected No. 1 pick Stokes played like the No. 1 pick Tuesday in his first big test beneath the NBA's magnifying glass. He finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and completed numerous dazzling passes (despite only three assists). He also looked comfortable from long range (4-for-8 from 3). Kansas grabbed control of the game early, in part because of Stokes' unselfish transition play. There were ups and downs, including some struggles finishing at the rim in traffic, but the positives were obvious. His knack for playmaking was evident. Stokes displayed much of what NBA teams want to see from the freshman this season -- improved decision-making, reliable shooting and consistent energy on both sides. He will have to continue proving it, but this showing was an excellent place to start backing up his lofty standing. -- Woo
