No. 1 Kansas, Michigan State heart stage at Champions Classic

The 14th annual Champions Classic in Atlanta on Tuesday brings the early college basketball spotlight with a headlining doubleheader featuring No. 1 Kansas and unranked Michigan State.

The event, which also features No. 7 Duke and No. 23 Kentucky, is in Atlanta for the first time since 2012, when it was held at the Georgia Dome. The 2024 edition features the nation’s top team, but its nothing new for the Jayhawks and Spartans to seek out early measuring sticks.

Kansas (2-0) breezed past Howard 87-57 on Nov. 4 in its season opener before fending off No. 9 North Carolina 92-89 on Friday. The Jayhawks saw their 20-point, first-half lead disappear at home against the Tar Heels but scored the game’s final five points for their first marquee win of the season.

South Dakota State transfer guard Zeke Mayo led Kansas with 21 points off the bench, while fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Mayo, a Lawrence, Kan., native and last season’s Summit League Player of the Year, leads his new team with an average of 20 points per game.

“(Zeke) met the opportunity with flying colors,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of his performance on Friday. “He was fantastic. He made a couple of plays off the bounce that were just fantastic. He was great, and we needed everything he gave us.”

Alongside Mayo, Dickinson — the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year — and KJ Adams Jr. return to the Jayhawks, averaging 18 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Kansas is 8-5 all-time in the Champions Classic, including 2-2 against the Spartans.

The teams most recently met in the event in 2021, with Kansas winning 87-74.

Even though his team is favored in Tuesday’s game, Self knows not to underestimate a Tom Izzo-coached team.

“Playing Tom’s teams is different because he runs more sets than anybody in the country,” Self said. “Getting your guys prepared for what they do, it’ll be a multi-day scout.”

The Spartans (2-0) have blown out two outmatched opponents this season, beating Monmouth 81-57 and Niagara 96-60. Michigan State’s top two scorers are both returnees in Jaden Akins — who is averaging 16.5 points a game — and Jaxon Kohler (12.5).

Kohler had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Niagara in a lopsided victory, but Izzo knows Tuesday will be a different story.

“We were able to get the ball inside and outside; we had 52 points in the paint,” Izzo said. “I don’t think that’s going to happen on Tuesday night, but it’s all about setting the tempo. What we’ve been doing well is what we’ve got to continue to do. I think we have some versatility inside and out, and I like the way we’ve moved the ball.”

Michigan State is 5-8 in the Champions Classic, which began in 2011. After upsetting No. 4 Kentucky in the 2022 event in double overtime, 86-77 in Indianapolis, the Spartans fell to No. 9 Duke 74-65 last year in Chicago.

–Field Level Media