The Champions Classic did not disappoint on Tuesday night as we got to take in two great matchups between four storied programs. First, #1 Kansas took down Michigan State in a close battle, and then we watched the Kentucky basketball team go to battle against Duke. This was the game that most people were excited to see. Cooper Flagg’s first big game with the Blue Devils. Mark Pope’s first game with the Wildcats. It did not disappoindifficult second half comeback to take down #6 Duke. Any Wildcats fans that didn’t like the Mark Pope hire are feeling a little bit better now as that was undeniably an impressive victory. The Kentucky basketball team kept their message short and sweet after the game.
“Made our statement,” The Kentucky basketball account said in a post after the game.
It’s only the second week of the season, but that game felt like we are in March. A loss in a game like this so early in the season doesn’t hurt a team, but you can see while watching the game how badly each team wants a win. March is a ways down the road, but this win will certainly look nice for the Wildcats when Selection Sunday rolls around.
The Duke basketball team actually had control of this game for a while. The Blue Devils had a comfortable nine-point lead at halftime, but the Kentucky basketball team finished the game strong.
Duke was able to maintain their lead for most of the second half, but Kentucky was slowly chipping away until they finally broke through and went on top with a little under three minutes to go in the game. Cooper Flagg had a massive game for the Blue Devils as he finished with 26 points, and he had the team on his back for most of the game. However, two late turnovers were incredibly costly.
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