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INDIANAPOLIS – Duke vs. Kentucky was built up to a national potential championship preview on the season's opening night. Kentucky entered as No. 2 in the preseason polls, possessing a rare mix of returning talent and five-star studs. Duke entered at No. 4. It did not have the Wildcats' depth, but it was recruited in R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cameron Reddish.
It only took a few minutes to dispel the notion this would be a competitive matchup. Duke dominated from the opening tip, handing Kentucky at 118-84 beatdown at the Champions Classic under the brights lights of ESPN.
Duke's freshman immediately took center stage, scoring 11 points on the team's first four possessions. It only got more one-sided from there. By halftime, Barrett, Williamson, and Reddish had combined for 45 of Duke's 59 points. Kentucky had 42 points as a team.
It's only one game, but it was so much to take the John Calipari's blue devils steamrolled group.
Duke might have the best freshmen class ever
It sounds like hyperbole, especially after only one game. But if Duke's freshmen just did that to Kentucky, imagine what they're going to do to typical college teams.
Barrett (33 points) was unstoppable and finished 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Williamson (28 points on 11-of-13 shooting) will be a couple of jumpers. Reddish (22 points) is just so smooth with the ball.
Not only are Barrett, Williamson and Reddish all big, fast and skilled, but also plays a unselfish game and has a team-first attitude. Some wondered if there would be competing agendas on a team with this much top-end talent, but the young Duke stars appear to have the right mindset at the onset of the season.
This does not mention Tre Jones, another five-star freshman, who has six points and six assists in the starting point.
Holy cow, this Duke team is loaded.
Kentucky will be fine … probably
This was a humbling opener for the Wildcats in every way. Kentucky fans jammed Bankers Life Fieldhouse only to watch their team get humiliated by the type of five-star freshmen they're using to Calipari landing.
Still, there's a silver lining for Kentucky: unless they play Duke again in the NCAA tournament, they will not see a team this talented the rest of the season.
Kentucky is still deep, talented and experienced. They still have eight five-star recruits and seven McDonald's All-Americans on the roster. The Wildcats are still favorites in the SEC. They could very well make the Final Four. They just were not anything close to this Duke team.
It will be interesting to see how UK responds. I was less than happy because of the lack of shooting, uninspiring point guard play, and the idea that these freshmen – while great – were at the level of Kentucky's best freshmen under Calipari.
There's a lot of time to go before we can write the Wildcats, but this was a bummer of a start.
Every Duke game will be must-watch
If you thought Duke got a lot of media attention before, America, you might want to keep your TV turned off during the first week of April.
Williamson would ask attention even by himself. With Barrett and Reddish, Duke has such a unique mix of talent that each game will be a show. They might go 1-2-3 in the NBA draft come June.
Yes, it's one game. No one is crowning Duke just yet. The Blue Devils in the first place, the Blue Devils just made an opening statement that should leave every other team in the country scared straight.
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