Champions Classic 2015: Final Scores and Reaction from Tuesday

College basketball kicked into full swing Tuesday with a pair of Final Four-worthy matchups between powerhouse programs. 

No. 2 Kentucky clashed with No. 5 Duke, and No. 4 Kansas met No. 13 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago. 

This pair of annual clashes is a great early-season indicator of which teams are off and running and which have work left to do. 

Here is a brief glance at each game with reaction sprinkled in.    

Kentucky 74, Duke 63

Kentucky led by six at the break then ran away in the second half to a 74-63 win, handing the defending champs their first loss in the very early season. 

Hometown hero Tyler Ulis put on a show in Chicago, finishing with a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and six assists. The standout sophomore outdueled Duke's Grayson Allen, who was limited to just three field goals on 13 attempts, and hasn’t quite fit into his shifted role of point guard replacing Tyus Jones. 

Doug Gottlieb of CBS Sports highlighted how Allen’s struggles manifested a mismatch with his Kentucky counterpart:

When asked how he felt about leading his team in his hometown, Ulis told the ESPN telecast: “Very responsible. Being here last year and having so much experience, I had to just come in here and lead these guys.”

Drew Franklin of Kentucky Sports Radio quipped about Ulis’ performance, holding him in heavenly ranks:

Ulis was aided by forward Marcus Lee, who finished with the game’s only double-double. 

The tandem made some flashy plays, as ESPN College BBall showed:

"

Who said it's all about the freshmen at Kentucky? Tyler Ulis to Marcus Lee = WOW. https://t.co/Gp5JIsQSwF

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) November 18, 2015"

Duke didn’t score its first fast-break points until 34 minutes into the game. Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune highlighted the massive differential:

The result was much wider than forecast, as the Wildcats were only favored by 1.5 points, per Odds Shark.

Before Wisconsin upset the then-undefeated Wildcats in the national semifinal, this matchup was pegged the likely title game. Of course, Duke went on to upset the Badgers and claim its fifth championship under coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have plenty of time to right the ship, but Kentucky showed them Tuesday what it’ll take to keep pace with a title contender. 

Michigan State 79, Kansas 73

Kansas is going to be stinging after this one.

The Jayhawks led by as many as 13 but allowed the Spartans to creep back and tie the game at 62 with just under six minutes remaining.

The Spartans were anchored by a remarkable performance from Denzel Valentine, who seems to be making the most of his senior season.

Valentine finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists —all game-highs. It also marked the 13th triple-double in Michigan State’s illustrious history, and is just the fourth Spartan to accomplish such a feat, per Mike Wilson of 247Sports.

Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated speculated the performance would be one tough to top:

Jay Williams of ESPN and Bob Wojnowski went as far to start chatter for postseason accolades:

Yet despite his heroics, Valentine was actually critical of himself following the victory, per the ESPN telecast:

"

It wasn’t pretty. I probably shot awful from the field, didn’t have the best numbers, we had a lot of turnovers, we didn’t play the defense, but we just got the job done.

"

For Kansas, this will be a tough one to swallow. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the Jayhawks may have lost the game as much as the Spartans won:

The season is still so fresh, but given the Jayhawks early exit from the NCAA Tournament last year, it’s hard to ponder their longevity. The manner of Tuesday’s loss is one that can carry, but also could serve as a catapult. Kansas should still

Speculating on next week’s polls, Michigan State should assuredly crack the Top 10. But given the nine-spot gap between the Spartans and Jayhawks, it’ll be interesting to see how far Kansas falls.