Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s heartbreaking 89-84 loss to No. 1 Kansas
Five things you need to know from No. 17 Kentucky’s 89-84 loss to No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic from the United Center in Chicago:
1. Kansas seniors bailed the Jayhawks out. Kentucky led 83-78 after Antonio Reeves hit a 6-footer with 3:15 left in the game.
From there, two KU seniors — point guard Dajuan Harris and Michigan transfer center Hunter Dickinson — combined to score nine straight points to push the Jayhawks to an 87-84 advantage and, ultimately, victory.
Harris hit a 3-pointer from the top with three minutes left, then cashed a pair of free throws at 2:35. Dickinson hit two free throws (2:04) and powered in a contested layup (1:15).
For the game, Harris — who had scored all of two total points in KU’s first two games of the season — went for 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 5 of 6 3-pointers.
Dickinson — who was booed by Kentucky fans, presumably for having spurned the Wildcats as a transfer portal recruit — had a double-double with 27 points and 21 boards.
2. Unlikely heroes almost led Kentucky to a major upset. D.J. Wagner and Justin Edwards, the two UK players with the most recruiting hype, combined to shoot 1 of 18 from the floor — Wagner was 1 of 12, Edwards 0 of 6.
Antonio Reeves, UK’s most-experienced returnee, went for 24 points on his return to his hometown of Chicago, but it was an inefficient 24 as the super-senior guard shot 7 of 25, 3 of 17 on treys.
Among those who stepped in to fill the void were:
Freshman guard Rob Dillingham, who had a scintillating first-half stretch that hearkened back to Tayshaun Prince’s three-point shooting barrage against North Carolina in Rupp Arena on Dec. 8, 2001.
Dillingham arced in 3-point shots at the 6:52, 6:11, 5:26 and 4:51 marks of the first half that helped ignite UK to a 48-41 halftime lead.
Sophomore forward Adou Thiero, returning after missing UK’s win over Texas A&M-Commerce while in concussion protocol, went for a double-double, 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Freshman guard Reed Sheppard hit his first four shots and finished with 13 points in 16 minutes of action.
That Kentucky could take the No. 1 team in the country to the final minute with several of its presumed top players struggling and with its three 7-foot centers sitting out the game for various reasons should bode well for what the Wildcats’ ultimate ceiling is come March.
3. Some dubious trends continue for UK. Even with its encouraging effort, Kentucky fell to 6-17 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 since the start of the 2020-21 season.
The Wildcats also dropped to 40-35 in that time frame against teams from college basketball’s six major conferences (the football Power Five and the Big East) plus Gonzaga.
UK dropped to 8-16 all-time in games against the team rated No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Kentucky has now gone 4-9 in its past 13 games versus top-rated foes.
4. Champions Classic standings. With No. 9 Duke’s 74-65 win over No. 18 Michigan State and No. 17 Kentucky’s 89-84 loss to No. 1 Kansas, the all-time Champions Classic records are now:
Duke 8-5, Kansas 8-5, Kentucky 5-8, Michigan State 5-8.
UK has lost four in a row and six of its last seven in the annual, ESPN-sponsored doubleheader that features the same four college hoops blue bloods each season.
Michigan State has now lost in six of its last eight Champions Classic appearances.
ESPN announced Tuesday that the 2024-25 Champions Classic will be played at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Nov. 12, 2024.
Next season’s matchups will be Michigan State vs. Kansas and Kentucky against Duke.
5. The all-time wins race. With its victory, Kansas gains a game on Kentucky and now trails the Wildcats 2,377-2,373 in the battle to be the all-time men’s college hoops victories leader.
Kentucky’s upset bid falls short. No. 1 Kansas comes back to beat UK in Champions Classic.
Box score from Kentucky basketball’s 89-84 Champions Classic near miss vs. No. 1 Kansas
First Scouting Report: UK will seek to avoid a post-Kansas letdown against Stonehill
