Official gameday thread. Champions Classic
- Thread starter GhostOf301
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I think both games are going to be dog fights. Probably lots of mistakes at the start of each game just due to being the Garden. All are quality teams and that alone will change the attitudes of the players and coaches.
Washington, Allen, Grady, Mintz and CJ need to be sharp on the 3's tonight. CJ just started practicing Saturday, but Cal said he would play 1-2 minutes. I suspect more if he's hitting. Oscar is a beast inside. He can rebound with the best of them. We don't need him to score as much, but I suspect him, Toppin and Brooks are going to see a few lobs. Savir can penetrate and is a pest on defense. We need his assists.
Our defense sucks at this stage of the season, but I like our offense. Duke is going to have to defend.
I'm going with dogs... MSU and Kentucky win
Washington, Allen, Grady, Mintz and CJ need to be sharp on the 3's tonight. CJ just started practicing Saturday, but Cal said he would play 1-2 minutes. I suspect more if he's hitting. Oscar is a beast inside. He can rebound with the best of them. We don't need him to score as much, but I suspect him, Toppin and Brooks are going to see a few lobs. Savir can penetrate and is a pest on defense. We need his assists.
Our defense sucks at this stage of the season, but I like our offense. Duke is going to have to defend.
I'm going with dogs... MSU and Kentucky win
Feel like Duke and Kansas are the favorites.
But, who knows? Kentucky has more experience. Kansas is missing Jalen Wilson - and Michigan State has a starting backcourt that hasn't performed on the big stage before.
Here's my randomish stat for the Champions Classic...
Champions Classic All-Time Leading Scorers
Top 10
1. Frank Mason, Kansas, 57
2. Grayson Allen, Duke, 55
3. Keith Appling, Michigan State, 54
4. Perry Ellis, Kansas, 53
5. Amile Jefferson, Duke, 51
6. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State, 47
6. Branden Dawson, Michigan State, 47
8. Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 46
9. Seth Curry, Duke, 43
10. Alex Poythress, Kentucky, 40
Duke
1. Grayson Allen, 55
2. Amile Jefferson, 51
3. Seth Curry, 43
Michigan State
1. Keith Aplling, 54
2. Denzel Valentine, 47
2. Branden Dawson, 47
Kentucky
1. Alex Poythress, 40
2. Isaiah Briscoe, 33
3. Julius Randle, 27
Kansas
1. Frank Mason, 57
2. Perry Ellis, 53
3. Wayne Selden, 36
3. Udoka Azubuike, 36
Current Active Leaders
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas, 32
Jalen Wilson, Kansas, 23
David McCormack, Kansas, 16
Julius Marble, Michigan State, 12
Davion Mintz, Kentucky, 12
Joey Hauser, Michigan State, 11
Malik Hall, Michigan State, 10
Agbaji could become the all-time leading scorer with 26+ points tonights.
But, who knows? Kentucky has more experience. Kansas is missing Jalen Wilson - and Michigan State has a starting backcourt that hasn't performed on the big stage before.
Here's my randomish stat for the Champions Classic...
Champions Classic All-Time Leading Scorers
Top 10
1. Frank Mason, Kansas, 57
2. Grayson Allen, Duke, 55
3. Keith Appling, Michigan State, 54
4. Perry Ellis, Kansas, 53
5. Amile Jefferson, Duke, 51
6. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State, 47
6. Branden Dawson, Michigan State, 47
8. Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 46
9. Seth Curry, Duke, 43
10. Alex Poythress, Kentucky, 40
Duke
1. Grayson Allen, 55
2. Amile Jefferson, 51
3. Seth Curry, 43
Michigan State
1. Keith Aplling, 54
2. Denzel Valentine, 47
2. Branden Dawson, 47
Kentucky
1. Alex Poythress, 40
2. Isaiah Briscoe, 33
3. Julius Randle, 27
Kansas
1. Frank Mason, 57
2. Perry Ellis, 53
3. Wayne Selden, 36
3. Udoka Azubuike, 36
Current Active Leaders
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas, 32
Jalen Wilson, Kansas, 23
David McCormack, Kansas, 16
Julius Marble, Michigan State, 12
Davion Mintz, Kentucky, 12
Joey Hauser, Michigan State, 11
Malik Hall, Michigan State, 10
Agbaji could become the all-time leading scorer with 26+ points tonights.
long as its not 72-40 against KU i call it a victory. i still have PTSD from that one.
Nah, this round robin works great. UNC, Nova, Zags, and UCLA need to do their own thing
I think KU is going to be very good this year, but there are sloppy times ahead until we get the rotation figured out. Too many new pieces.
As long as the offense runs through Dave every possession then the offense’s potential is going to be low. The fact Self still hasn’t realized this is mindboggling a year later. Dave is a blackhole and a very inefficient one at that especially against length.
Which ever team start hitting their jump shots more consistently pulls away. I’d bank that’s you guys.
I think Dave made some strides last year. Still inconsistent though. He’s never learned to play strong though and he struggles when he plays against length. Tonight isn’t his game to shine.
I am liking the looks of the freshmen though. We’ve been in need of a center who can shoot the three.
KU defense leading to offense got them the 7 pt halftime lead. Gave MSU a bit of their own medicine pushing the ball back off misses. KU looking to attack inside and it’s led to some blocks but also led to FT attempts.
Impressed by the freshmen and Harris. Otherwise a pretty "meh" half.
Will be nice to have Wilson back and less Braun. Hopefully Bill is just getting Mitch some early season minutes before burying him on the bench as the season goes on.
Will be nice to have Wilson back and less Braun. Hopefully Bill is just getting Mitch some early season minutes before burying him on the bench as the season goes on.
We will see how this one ends up, but generally the way these KU/MSU games end up, is KU starts to build a lead late in the first half, build on the lead in the 2nd half, then the last 5-10 minutes of the game, MSU goes on a run and either pulls off the W or KU escapes in a close one.
Braun looking like he did the 2nd half of last season. He just went in that shooting slump and it started to bother him. You can tell tonight that it’s still in his head. He’s gonna have to see a few go in when we play some weaker teams at home, then hopefully he can get back to his old form. He’s a good player when he’s hitting his shots and we’re a better team when his shot is falling. Him and Wilson both went cold to end the season last year, which was a major contributor to our late season woes.
I knew when it was announced he was coming back he would be a problem for the rest of NCAA basketball.
He was fairly consistent last year. Remy is the difference for this KU team vs last year. KU just played at a much faster pace tonight than at any time last year.
You had more confidence than I did. I wasn’t that impressed with him last year. Very streaky and too passive. Offered little outside of hitting the open three. He looks like he’s made huge strides though.
Congrats, Jayhawks. Just settled in for the Cats game. Bowl packed up and ready to go.
The only bourbon I currently have in stock is Turkey 101. Posting could turn ugly, soon.
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