Champions Classic takeaways: Hunter Dickinson carries Kansas past Michigan State, Kentucky takes down Duke

The 14th edition of the Champions Classic did not lack storylines on Tuesday night. The marquee event delivered on multiple levels, from Hunter Dickinson’s double-double and Bill Self’s history-making night to Duke freshman Cooper Flagg’s late turnovers and Kentucky’s first signature win under head coach Mark Pope.

Here are three takeaways from the Champions Classic.

Dickinson’s efficiency carries No. 1 Kansas to victory, gives Bill Self the most wins in the program

Despite a rough shooting night that saw the Jayhawks miss 15 consecutive shots, the top-ranked team grinded out a 77-69 win over Michigan State in the first game of the Champions Classic. Dickinson led the way with 28 points, 12 rebounds and three steals while making 13 of his 21 shot attempts. It was Dickinson’s 50th career double-double.

While no other Jayhawks player scored more than 11 points, the Kansas defense held Michigan State to 34.8 percent shooting and a miserable 12.5 percent (3-for-24) from three. The Spartans’ best player, Jaden Akins, only had two points and was 1-for-8 from the floor.

With the win, Self passes Phog Allen for the most wins as the head coach of Kansas with 591.

Kentucky secures first signature win of Mark Pope era

After trailing by nine points at the half, the resilient Wildcats outscored Duke 40-26 in the second half to secure the first signature win of the Mark Pope era, 77-72. The night’s highlight for the Wildcats was their three-point shooting, making 40 percent (10-for-25) of their shots behind the arc and holding the Blue Devils to only 17.4 percent (4-for-23).

Andrew Carr led the way with 17 points and five rebounds and Otega Oweh hit four free throws in the final 10.3 seconds. While Kentucky could not slow Duke’s freshmen in the first half, the Wildcat defense stepped up and forced two critical turnovers from Flagg in the closing seconds to secure the massive win.

In contrast to years past, Kentucky took advantage of having a more experienced team and made the plays down the stretch to knock off the younger, primarily inexperienced Blue Devils team.

Cooper Flagg’s late miscues were costly for Duke

The freshman Flagg played well overall, but his mistakes late in the game proved too much for Duke to overcome. He had 26 points and 12 rebounds in the game but could not make the plays to close the game out down the stretch.

With Duke trailing 74-72 and a chance to win the game, Flagg put his hand on the end line as he tried to regain his balance in the corner and turned the ball over. He also failed to box out when Kentucky missed a free throw up 75-72.

Despite a difficult finish for the freshman, Flagg showed his potential throughout the game before committing those costly turnovers late. With a tough stretch coming up that includes games against No. 9 Arizona, No. 1 Kansas and fifth-ranked Auburn, Flagg will have plenty more opportunities to showcase his abilities and work on his execution late in close games.