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In the first round of the Champions Classic, the re-equipped Kansas, No. 1, proved why he was at the top, beating Michigan State in a 92-87 win at Indy. Three reflections on the dominant victory of the Jayhawks:
1. Dynamic Jayhawks freshmen are legitimate
The class of freshmen leading the Champions Classic is, justifiably, the formidable trio of Duke. But the first years of Bill Self dominated the first act. Grimes, the No. 8 rookie of the incoming class, displays his sweet love at first sight. The Texas native drilled his first three treys, finishing with 21 points while shooting 6 to 10 from downtown. Meanwhile, Devon Dotson, the rookie in Charlotte's 24th rank, was calm. He has 16 points, three assists and is a slippery goalkeeper in Self's backyard with a talent for sneaking into the hallway. He also disrupted Michigan State's offense by adding three robberies. The fourth center, David McCormack, was even well on the case when Azubuike had to sit down with two fouls in the first half. He played only five minutes, but showed pretty lightning.
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Grimes was the star. With Dedric Lawson, the Jayhawks star player, he missed 13 shots out of 18, but finished with 20 points and 14 boards. Grimes threatened to play from the first advice. He is clearly a special player who had an instant impact tonight.
2. Udoka Azubuike is ready to block, bounce and dunk on college basketball (if he stays in the match)
Last year, the Nigerian center managed 77.0% to take off, which is one of the best brands in the history of the NCAA. During the off season, the Azubuike declared for the repechage, learned what the NBA world wanted him to improve and returned to Lawrence for his junior season. In his debut in 2018-19, he looked incredibly polite. Self made a concerted effort to feed the 7 foot Azubuike, taking advantage of the juicy height mismatch with Nick Ward of 6'9 "in the paint. Azubuike dominated the match on both sides early in the game. Ward opened the scoring with five consecutive losses and two turnovers, and Azubuike blocked three shots in the first half. His position on the offensive also looked better than last season. Perhaps the most significant sequence of Azubuike's impact was around the 11:00 mark in the first half: Kansas center stuffed driver Aaron Henry at the edge. At the other end, Lawson missed a point and Azubuike fought to return the ball to Grimes, who equalized a deep shot.
From the 12th minute of the first half to the dead time of the under-four media, Kansas scored 26-11 to 11, and Azubuike was a major key. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, serious problems threatened him – Azubuike only played 20 minutes. He bounced back, as five minutes from the end, he resumed the game and crushed a 15-6 charge into the state of Michigan with a hook and a hook and a rainbow over Ward . His free kick was a little better (3 against 7 tonight), but there is still much to do.
3. The United States Miss Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Spartans had explosive explosions and dragged around – they reduced the Jayhawks' lead to three points late in the second period – but Kansas smothered them in most areas. Although it was a tight game late, the Self team was in control from start to finish. The Spartans could have used Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr., who both left for the NBA, on the glass and creating baskets down, where Michigan State was mistreated, awarding 40 points in the paint and scoring just 24 points. Bridges and JJJ really seemed to be missing from the Spartans as they tried to keep pace with the Kansas athletes.
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Shooting just 14 points on 25 of the free throw line in the first half was self-defeating and contributed to a 14-point deficit at half-time, not to mention Izzo's anger. Now their fight was impressive. The Spartans were in the 17th minute in the middle of the second period and rallied to make Kansas sweat a little more at the end of the countdown. They were dynamite from three, shooting 52%. Cassius Winston, who shot nearly 50% of the back last year, has strengthened. His 18 points and 11 assists allowed the Spartans to stay afloat. Kenny Goins (17 points, 11 rebounds) played a solid game and Josh Langford (18 points, 4 against 6 of 3) 3 hours from downtown. It was a good performance, but it was just not enough, especially with Ward and Langford having accumulated fouls in the second half. 18 turnarounds did not help the Spartans record.
At this point, Michigan State just misses the extra punch you need to defeat a prolific team like Kansas, and the deep Jayhawks looked like a legitimate title contender.
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