Classic night

Good morning! We had a couple of must-see matchups last night, and we’ve got two more tonight. Who says the college hoops season needs more pop to start?

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1. Michigan State lights up Kentucky

Who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks?

Michigan State entered the Champions Classic shooting 22% from beyond the arc, yet put on a shooting show in an 83-66 win over No. 12 Kentucky.

The No. 17 Spartans were 11-of-22 on 3-pointers, which was not only a stark contrast from Kentucky — nearly half of its field-goal attempts are 3s and it was 7-of-30 — but a significant jump from its usual shooting. The Spartans (4-0) entered the game just 13-of-60 from deep.

Michigan State was more connected and led by the its connector, Jeremy Fears Jr.

The sophomore point guard logged eight points, six rebounds and 13 assists, the same total as Kentucky had total. For . For a team without a clear go-to scorer, it matters who’s setting everyone up. And Fears did that as Jaxon Kohler (20 points) and Kur Teng (15) benefitted. It’s also not a coincidence that both are Michigan State products.

“The transfer portal recruitment is almost bigger than winning games. Not at Michigan State,” coach Tom Izzo said. “Someday it could hurt me. I’m going to do what I gotta do, but I also don’t give up on the people I got, and that’s what we call development, and that’s what you call working with players, and you stick with them, and they stick with you.”

Kentucky opened the game on a 5-0 run. That was it for highlights. The Cats (3-2) once again played without point guard Jaland Lowe, but it seems like their issues go beyond one player. Coach Mark Pope called his team “discombobulated” afterward.

Kentucky now faces a look in the mirror type moment. The good thing? It's only five games into the season — and the Wildcats could still improve once Lowe and Jayden Quaintance start playing.

2. Duke wins, but Kansas shows some fight

Maybe Kansas can exist without Darryn Peterson.

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