Classic night of hoops

On a night with nearly 70 games, eight of which involved ranked teams, you'd be forgiven if you only had eyes for the Champions Classic. But there was plenty of action on Tuesday, plus a couple of notable commitments and another preseason watch list was released.

Let's get to the news.

1. Spartans slam Tshiebwe, Kentucky

Oscar Tshiebwe finally got on the court. And Michigan State made the most of it when he was off it.

The Spartans' 86-77 double-overtime win at the Champions Classic provided enough drama for two games, including dramatic dunks, a breakout game for Mady Sissoko, and repeated thievery from Cason Wallace. But we'll start with Tshiebwe.

The reigning national POY didn't start for Kentucky but was impressive in his first outing since knee surgery in October. He finished with 22 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks — but he fouled out with 32 seconds left in the first overtime.

OK, wait. How'd we get to OT? Just a game-tying dunk of an incredible in-bounds play.

Neither team controlled the first OT, though it looked like Michigan State missed its chance at a win when Tyson Walker's jumper with 8 seconds remaining didn't fall. But when Wallace hit 1 of 2 free throws, it gave Tom Izzo a chance to design yet another jaw-dropping out-of-bounds play.

How'd he come up with those? "Oh yeah, I set them up," he said after the game. "I said, 'Let's just go dunk the damn ball.' I like dunks."

It helped that Tshiebwe was on the sideline. Kentucky (2-1) didn't have anyone to match Sissoko's physicality in the second overtime. He scored seven of the Spartans' 15 points in the extra period — with an emphatic finish — on his way to a career-high 16 points. He also contributed 8 boards and 3 steals.

Sissoko's late heroics shouldn't overshadow Joey Hauser's shot-making (23 points, 4-7 from deep), or the consistently clutch plays by Walker down the stretch (he played 46 minutes and only had 3 turnovers).

I'd be remiss without mentioning more about Wallace, though. The UK freshman was unreal on defense (8 steals and constant disruption) and finished with 14 points in 44 minutes, a sign of the trust coach John Calipari already has in him. But he and point guard Sahvir Wheeler repeatedly struggled to execute Kentucky's half-court offense, which is a troubling sign for anyone who remembers how the Wildcats' season ended in 2022.

But this night belonged to Michigan State. After its loss to Gonzaga, it wasn't clear if this team could close out games, especially during its tough nonconference schedule. But it's an Izzo team, through and through. That'll be enough going forward.

2. Kansas grinds it out against Duke.

The second game of the Champions Classic had almost everything you'd want in a game. The only things missing? Perimeter shooting and Bill Self.

Turns out Kansas didn't need either one.

Jalen Wilson scored a career-high 25 points, Dajuan Harris had 10 assists (and just one turnover) as the Jayhawks (3-0) rallied past a feisty, young Blue Devils team, 69-64.

Yet, in a game where offense was hard to find — Kansas and Duke combined to go 6-40 from beyond the arc — it was a 3-pointer that propelled the Jayhawks during the final minutes.

That shot was the start of seven straight points for the Kansas freshman, and the spark for the Jayhawks' 15-5 run over the final 4:08. Gradey Dick had been a non-factor for the entire second half, unable to slow Duke's Tyrese Proctor and unable to find space for his own shot.

Then again, neither team had much luck in their half-court offenses. Wilson was the Jayhawks' only reliable threat, and all of his points were inside the arc (he was 0-7 beyond it). Kyle Filipowski (17 points, 14 rebounds) and Jeremy Roach (16 points) both had their moments for Duke, but both had stretches of choppy play on the court.

The best way to score was defense. We saw sequences like this again and again.

The trouble was, turnovers sabotaged any momentum. Midway through the first half, Duke had more turnovers (6) than made field goals (4) and ended up with 18. Kansas wasn't much better. It had 15 TOs.

But as the AFTER DARK crew pointed out, the result didn't put doubt into either team's Final Four prospects. It only cemented that both have enough pieces to put together a run in March.

Self (serving a school-imposed four-game suspension) will be back on the Kansas sideline next week. He likely won't stress the 3-point misses (the turnovers, yes), but he'll look at this team and know the attitude is there for grinding out wins when needed. That's something Duke coach Jon Scheyer knows his team needs.

"Before the game, we said that whoever handles the adversity better wins and I thought they did that late," Scheyer said.

Duke (2-1) didn't like the outcome, but it should like what it saw from a young, talented team that consistently played 3-4 freshmen at once and is still without its best wing, Dariq Whitehead, who's recovering from foot surgery. He's unlikely to return in time for the Blue Devils' trip to the Phil Knight Invitational next week (where they could play Gonzaga).

3. There were other games on Tuesday, too

The Champions Classic sucked up most of the oxygen last night (deservedly so, given the teams and dramatic games), but we're not about to ignore the other interesting results.

UNLV 60, Dayton 52: To anyone who stayed up for this 11 pm ET tipoff, they watched the shocker of the night. The No. 21 Flyers led by 12 points early in the second half before the Rebels (3-0) ran away with the game. Dayton (2-1), still without point guard Malachi Smith, lost forward Toumani Camara to a knee injury (all four of his points came in the first half) and also saw star big man DaRon Holmes leave briefly with an ankle injury. Both Holmes and Camara say they'll be back for Saturday's game against Robert Morris.

Saint Louis 90, Memphis 84: Get ready for the Billikens (3-0) to be ranked. They led by double digits for most of the second half before Memphis (1-1) made things close, cutting it to 86-84 with 42 seconds left. But SLU hit enough free throws and got a solid win with big man Francis Okoro being held in check. It helps when you've got Yuri Collins (22 points, 9 assists), who won the showdown of elite point guards against Kendric Davis (18 points, 4 assists).

North Carolina 72, Gardner-Webb 66: UNC (3-0) led for nearly the entire game, but never really hit its stride against the Runnin' Bulldogs (0-3). Pete Nance scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half. One wonders when they'll finally look like a contender.

San Diego State 74, Stanford 62: Nothing dramatic here. Just a steady dismantling by the Aztecs (3-0), who forced 17 turnovers and held the Cardinal (1-2) to 40 percent shooting on their home floor.

Alabama 65, South Alabama 55: The Crimson Tide are 2-0, but the important thing to note is that Jahvon Quinerly played for the first time since tearing his ACL on March 18.

Purdue 75, Marquette 70: Another monster night from Zach Edey (20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks), but it was Braden Smith (20 points) and David Jenkins Jr. (10 points) who hit the buckets that enabled Purdue (3-0) to pull away from Marquette (2-1).

Appalachian State 61, Louisville 60: The Cardinals are 0-3, with all three losses coming by one point. They could just as easily be 3-0 given only one D-I team has three consecutive one-point losses in the last 12 years. There's a good chance they won't win until Dec. 17. And it seems like the fans know it.

Wake Forest 68, Utah Valley 65 (OT): The ACC avoided a miserable night thanks to Tyree Appleby's last-second 3-pointer. Wake (3-0) trailed by as much as seven in the second half but hung on against the Wolverines (2-2).

Vanderbilt 89, Temple 87 (OT): Temple's Damian Dunn scored 38 points and hit 7 of 9 from deep, but he got blocked on a drive with seven seconds remaining in overtime as the 'Dores (1-2) got their first win of the season. The Owls are 1-2.

Prairie View A&M 70, Washington State 59: Will Douglas scored 26 points as the Panthers (3-0) never trailed against Wazzu (1-2). That moved the SWAC to 3-3 in its Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series, winning all three of its home games. Whether the series continues ...

Colgate 80, Syracuse 68: This technically denied Jim Boeheim his 1,000th career win. But that's just from the NCAA's POV.

4. The Muss Bus adds a 5-star passenger

Layden Blocker has company in Arkansas' 2023 recruiting class.

The 6-10 big out of Denver chose the Hogs over Auburn, Seton Hall and Rutgers, among others. He's a consensus Top 20 recruit who boasts tremendous length and a non-stop motor, but he's still raw on offense. Nevertheless, he'll fit perfectly into coach Eric Musselman's scheme, which prizes athletic big men who can cover ground defensively and thrive while rolling to the basket.

"He plays with contagious energy and is an excellent two-way player who can affect the game on both offen­se and defense. Baye fits our NBA/Arkansas mold with his versatility and being a positionless basketball player," Musselman said in a release.

He'll probably be catching lobs from Blocker, a point guard and top-30 recruit. Now we'll see how may other 2023 recruits join them in Fayetteville.

Also in recruiting news:

• Colorado picked up its second elite prospect in less than a week, adding big man Assane Diop, a 4-star local product.

• Villanova snagged Jordann Dumont, a 3-star forward in the class of 2023.

• Bruce Zhang, a 7-1 Chinese center from The Skill Factory in Atlanta, has committed to Saint Louis.

• They weren't the only school grabbing a 7-footer. Liberty signed Kai Yu, a 7-footer from China.

• San Jose State added William Humer, a 6-10 JUCO forward originally from Sweden.

5. Any difference between Wooden Award and Naismith noms?

The Wooden Award announced its preseason top-50 list on Monday, a list of pretty much all the best players in the sport. In fact, you might think it looks almost exactly like the Naismith Trophy preseason top-50 list that dropped last week.

Like, 46 of the same players.

On the Wooden Award list (and not on Naismith):

• Posh Alexander, St. John's

• Timmy Allen, Texas

• Jayden Gardner, Virginia

• Cason Wallace, Kentucky

On the Naismith (and not Wooden):

• Graham Ike, Wyoming

• Caleb McConnell, Rutgers

• Drew Peterson, USC

• Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

In a game of four-on-four (not that anyone ever plays that), the four on the Wooden Award list would beat the Naismith guys (especially right now when Ike and McConnell are hurt). But I'd replace any of them with Kerr Kriisa from Arizona...

Who's got the guards?

Gonzaga's on stop two of its brutal nonconference schedule (after this, the Zags play Kentucky, Baylor, Washington and Alabama by Dec. 17, along with the PK85). A trip to Austin is a test for any program, and this one figures to be tougher than most as Texas (2-0) boasts perhaps the nastiest defense in the sport, led by its backcourt of Tyrese Hunter and Marcus Carr. For Gonzaga (2-0) to steal a win, it'll need its guards to be significantly better than they were against Michigan State. Rasir Bolton, Nolan Hickman and Malachi Smith made just 8 of 23 shots (they were playing outside), but more importantly, they never looked comfortable, particularly Hickman. (9:30 pm ET, ESPN2)

Other games to watch (All times ET)

• Iowa (2-0) at Seton Hall (2-0), 7:30 pm (FS1)

• VCU (2-0) vs. Arizona State (2-1) at Barclays Center, 8:30 pm (ESPN+)

• Michigan (2-0) vs. Pitt (1-1) at Barclays Center, 6 pm (ESPNU)

Sky-high expectations

How high can Creighton soar this season? The Bluejays are 3-0, have topped 90 points during their last two wins, and have terrific balance across the roster. When they head to the Maui Invitational next week, then prep for another tough Big East slate, is the team feeling those expectations?

Creighton assistant Jaylen Courtney joined Welcome to the Jay with Jahenns Manigat to detail what's been working thus far and what's next.

Subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube and subscribe to the Welcome to Jay podcast here.

Links to click as you wonder if NASA could've come up with a better name than "Artemis"

• The 2023 Champions Classic will be in Chicago — and won't be during college hoops' opening week.

• UCLA expects its travel expenses to increase by $1.17 million annually once it moves to the Big Ten.

• Really good read on NIL and how it should be viewed in modern-day college recruiting. ($)

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