J.D. Hall 
Kentucky and Duke Basketball.
Tuesday night was the first major test for Mark Pope and his team of veteran transfers. They
had dominated the first 2 games of the season, but the 6 th ranked Duke Blue Devils presented a major
step up in competition in this year’s Champions Classic in Atlanta.
Duke brought to the game the number one ranked freshman class in college basketball, led by
the projected number one pick in the next NBA draft, Cooper Flagg. Kentucky also hadn’t beaten Duke
since the Champions Classic game in November of 2015. There was going to be a lot to learn, about both
teams with this game.
Kentucky got off to a scorching start from 3 point range, hitting their first 5 shots from deep
route to a 19-13 lead. They would miss their next 8 after that leading to a 9 point halftime deficit, 46-37.
The cold streak shooting the ball wasn’t the only reason for the deficit. Duke lived in the paint, scoring
28 points in the paint in the first half outpacing Kentucky’s 6. Kentucky also committed 7 turnovers to
Duke’s 1. This lead to an 11-0 points off turnover deficit for Kentucky. Kentucky was also unable to get
out in transition, scoring only 1 point there in the first half.
Duke had a lot to do with those numbers. After Kentucky hit their first 5 threes of the game,
Duke got more physical on the defensive end. This pushed Kentucky’s offense farther out on the floor
and made the movement and cuts, a huge part of Kentucky’s offense, harder on them to execute. Flagg
and Kon Knueppel would lead Duke in the first half, both scoring 12 points. They also got some big
contributions from Tyrese Proctor with 10 points and Khaman Maluach with 6.
The 2 nd half was a different story. Kentucky came out of the locker room with a different
attitude. They ramped up the defensive intensity and very quickly cut the 9 point lead down to 4. From
there, the lead fluctuated between 3 and 9 points until just under the 4 minute mark when Andrew Carr
tied the game at 67 with a 3 point play. Kentucky would take its first lead since it was 24-23 with 2:40 on
the clock, 69-67 with an Otega Oweh steal and layup.
The last 2 minutes was a back and forth battle with the teams trading the lead or being tied until
there was just 12 seconds left and Oweh would come up big again, stealing the ball from Flagg and
getting fouled with 10 seconds left. He would make both feee throws, giving Kentucky a lead 74-72.
Flagg would take the ensuing inbounds and dribble to the corner and lose the ball out of bounds with
just 5 seconds remaining in the game.
Carr would hit Lamont Butler with a long inbounds pass, forcing another foul and a chance to ice
the game from the line. After making the first free throw, he would miss the second. Oweh was there
again. He out jumped Flagg for the game clinching offensive rebound, getting fouled with just .5 seconds
left in the game. He calmly walked to the line and sank both free throws to complete the comeback win,
77-72.
The depth for both teams played a big part in the outcome of the game. Kentucky played 10 and
Duke started with a 9 man rotation that was shortened due to cramps and an injury. Maluach suffered
from cramps most of the 2 nd half, something that has plagued Duke early in the year. Reserve guard
Scion James would leave the game with about 13 minutes left with a shoulder injury from a tough screen by Amari Williams. By the end of the game, Duke was running out of gas and Kentucky was still
able to play with the same intensity it had the entire 2 nd half.
Flagg led all scorers with 26 points, but he also added 12 rebounds and 2 assists, but it was his
mistakes at the end that ultimately cost Duke the game. That isn’t to take away anything from his game,
he showed why there’s so much hype surrounding him this year, but he couldn’t do it all by himself.
Kentucky was able to hold the rest of the team to just 12 points (Flagg scored 14) most notably,
Knueppel to just 2 2 nd half points.
That was the biggest story of the 2 nd half, Kentucky made everything harder for Duke on the
offensive end, but at the same time, being more efficient on their offensive end of the floor. Only 3
second half turnovers to 6 for Duke leading to a 9-4 advantage in points off turnovers for Kentucky.
Kentucky also started to get some production in the paint and fast break points, 20 and 9 respectively.
Kentucky would be led by Carr who finished the game with 17 points and Oweh with 15.
Kentucky was also able to win the game despite getting nothing from Jaxson Robinson on the offensive
end of the floor, scoring just 1 point. He didn’t force the issue though and was able to contribute in
other ways, that may not show up on the stat sheet. He had 2 blocks on the defensive end of the floor as
well as playing tough defense on Duke’s supporting players.
This is still an early season game, that doesn’t decide how either team’s season will finish. Duke
is still one of the top teams in the country with one of the best players in the country. Kentucky is still an
experienced team with a lot of depth, but on this night, experience overcame talent and Kentucky and
Mark Pope passed their first major test of the season.
Kentucky returns to the court one week from Tuesday to face Lipscomb in Rupp Arena at
7:00pm on SECN+/ESPN+.
About The Author
