INDIANAPOLIS — Quentin Grimes scored 21 points in his college debut and Dedric Lawson added 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 1 Kansas past No. 10 Michigan State 92-87 in the season-opening Champions Classic on Tuesday.
The Jayhawks won their third consecutive in one of college basketball’s premier events.
Michigan State was led by Joshua Langford with 18 points and Kenny Goins with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Spartans are now 4-21 all-time against No. 1 teams.
The game pitted two power-conference preseason favorites against each other, and the finish was every bit as intriguing as expected.
After Kansas was in control for most of the game, the Spartans frantically trimmed a 10-point deficit to 90-87 with 34 seconds left. They had a chance to make it a two-point game when Devon Dotson missed the second of two free throws with 15 seconds left.
But Cassius Winston missed a layup for Michigan State, Kansas grabbed the rebound and Grimes sealed it by making 1 of 2 free throws.
It sure didn’t look like it would be so close after Kansas withstood Michigan State’s early three-point flurry.
The Jayhawks demonstrated why they earned the top ranking. They dominated the post, used three-pointers to pull away and eventually found a way to close out the feisty Spartans.
NO. 4 DUKE 118, NO. 2 KENTUCKY 84
INDIANAPOLIS — RJ Barrett scored 33 points and Zion Williamson added 28 in their first college games, leading No. 4 Duke over No. 2 Kentucky in the season-opening Champions Classic.
It was the most lopsided defeat in Coach John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky and marked the eighth time in 10 meetings the Blue Devils have beaten the Wildcats.
Both Barrett and Williamson surpassed Marvin Bagley III’s program record for points by a freshman in his debut at 25. Cam Reddish added 22 points and Tre Jones had 6, giving Duke’s freshmen a combined 89 points.
The teams set a Classic record for most combined points, set hours earlier in No. 1 Kansas’ 92-87 victory over No. 10 Michigan State.