Michael Hickey/Getty Images
In the best game of the young men’s college basketball season, the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks outlasted the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats for an 89-84 victory in Tuesday’s Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout, and there were extended stretches where it seemed like both teams would eventually pull away for the win. Yet clutch shooting from Dajuan Harris Jr. and a dominant performance from Hunter Dickinson was enough for the Jayhawks to prevail.
Dickinson finished with 27 points, 21 rebounds and three steals, while Harris added 23 points and seven assists behind 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Throw in a triple-double of 12 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds from Kevin McCullar Jr., and Kansas had too much firepower.
The performance drew praise from social media:
Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello
Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Hunter Dickinson is the first player with 20 points and 20 rebounds vs. Kentucky over the last 25 seasons. It’s also the first 20/20 game in Champions Classic history.
NCAA March Madness @MarchMadnessMBB
Hunter Dickinson beats the horn 🚨
Kentucky leads 48-41 at the half! pic.twitter.com/dFojiiGzSX
Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie
Dajuan Harris is such a stud. Was so good last year. I also continue to not rule him out as NBA player as a backup PG. So steady. Gets everyone invovled. Wholly unselfish mentality. Great defender. If the shooting is real like it was tonight, has a case as best PG in the country
NCAA March Madness @MarchMadnessMBB
Dajuan Harris catching FIRE from deep 🔥 @KUHoops pic.twitter.com/kTboEaO9q5
Matt Norlander @MattNorlander
The Dajuan-Harris-to-Hunter-Dickinson lob/dish potential this season is sky-high. Those two could grow to have great feel for each other’s tendencies.
Seth Davis @SethDavisHoops
What a response by Kansas!
15-2 run puts Jayhawks up by two. Dickinson doing Dickinson things, but everyone has a part in this one. Let’s see how (and whether) the Kiddie Cats answer.
Brian Rauf @brauf33
Love how aggressive Dajuan Harris is being offensively. He has largely taken a backseat in his career but this team needs him to be more of a scorer, and he has stepped up that way tonight
Andrew Lind @AndrewLindTV
.@KUHoops is now 26-1 when Dajuan Harris has 10 or more points.
It’s clear as day, the Jayhawks are better when he isn’t just a pass first point guard.
CJ Moore @CJMooreHoops
Hunter Dickinson’s body control when he came off that baseline spin was impressive. Sensed the help and finished on left side when usually going to reverse there.
Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoops
FINAL: Kansas 89, Kentucky 84
Jayhawks were down 14 at one point in the second half, but Dajuan Harris hit some HUGE 3’s and Hunter Dickinson had a monster game (27 points, 21 rebounds).
Give Kentucky credit. Were right there with Reeves and Wagner combined 8-36 from field.
Brian Rauf @brauf33
Veteran win for Kansas. Took a huge punch from Kentucky and stayed steady. Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris were the difference
The Jayhawks are the top team in the country with national championship aspirations thanks to the presence of a number of headline veterans, while Kentucky was the one with some questions about youth and inexperience.
It didn’t look that way in the first half.
Freshman Rob Dillingham provided an immediate spark off the bench with a barrage of three-pointers and a willingness to facilitate when Kansas collapsed on him. Combine that with sophomore Adou Thiero controlling the boards and scoring from different areas, and the SEC representatives jumped out to a seven-point halftime lead and extended it to double digits.
However, the seemingly inevitable Kansas run arrived.
Dickinson started overwhelming Kentucky’s bigs down low, and McCullar set up K.J. Adams Jr. for multiple chances in a row that included an alley-oop. McCullar then converted an and-one, and just like that the Big 12 team had the lead.
NCAA March Madness @MarchMadnessMBB
HERE COME THE JAYHAWKS!
7-0 run for @KUHoops 👀 pic.twitter.com/bp46WDr152
It would have been easy for the Wildcats to fold down the stretch after Kansas appeared to seize control, but they did the opposite. Much like Dillingham in the first half, freshman Reed Sheppard provided a key lift off the bench with his outside shooting, and Antonio Reeves created multiple scoring chances.
The back-and-forth defined the second half, but Harris’ red-hot shooting from the outside and a key basket down low from Dickinson in crunch time secured the win for the Jayhawks.
They will look to keep the momentum rolling when they face Chaminade on Monday.
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