CHICAGO -- Kansas looked like a team that had already found its footing. Kentucky looked like one still searching for it.
That was the gap Tuesday night in the Champions Classic, where No. 15 Kansas rolled past No.
24 Kentucky 89-69 despite having practiced with Trey Kaufman-Renn for only three weeks. Kentucky, by contrast, had been building since its first summer practice in the middle of June.
The Jayhawks were sharp from the start and never let the game drift into Kentucky’s comfort zone. Even with guard Melvin Council Jr. sidelined after breaking his foot Monday, Kansas moved the ball cleanly, attacked with purpose and kept finding easy offense. Kaufman-Renn was right in the middle of it, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists without a turnover.
That passing touch changed the shape of Kansas’ offense. Bill Self said the Jayhawks have become a different team because of it.
"One thing that we have become much better at, which helps chemistry, is that we have become much better cutters," Self said. "We weren’t cutters until we got Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Then you become a cutting team, which is an element that we didn’t have two weeks ago. I think it’s pretty good."
Kansas turned those cuts into 14 points against Kentucky, and nine of them came off passes from Kaufman-Renn. Tre White added 30 points on 16 shots, and the Jayhawks kept leaning into the combination of Kaufman-Renn’s playmaking and the force of future No. 1 pick Tyran Stokes. That pairing gave Kansas a look that was hard to handle all night.
Kentucky never found the same rhythm. The Wildcats got a rough whistle early when sophomore big man Malachi Moreno picked up his second foul with 16:37 left in the first half and was limited to seven first-half minutes. After that, the offense never really settled in.
Kansas made sure of that. The Jayhawks cut Kentucky apart on one end and kept the Wildcats from getting much of anything easy on the other. Kentucky scored just four points directly off cuts, and outside of Zoom Diallo pull-ups or contested Malachi Moreno post-ups, the offense spent too much time grinding through traffic.
That was not the plan Kentucky sold this offseason. The Wildcats added creators and pointed to the assist numbers of Diallo and Furman transfer Alex Wilkins.
Diallo did provide some shot-making against Kansas, but the starting backcourt combined for only one assist and seven turnovers. That kind of split is a problem.
Kentucky also added shooting with the idea that Milan Momcilovic, Ousmane N’Diaye and Justin McBride would give the roster the perimeter punch that was missing a year ago. Instead, Kansas blanketed Momcilovic, who got only three 3-point attempts. The best shooter in college basketball, as the source framed it, was kept from getting comfortable, and Kentucky’s half-court offense never found enough answers against high-major athletes.
Right now, the Wildcats are playing too slowly and too predictably. There aren’t enough quick decision-makers on the floor, and smart defenses are taking advantage before Kentucky can get anything started.
Pope didn’t hide from the result.
"We took a massive, really disappointing, not living up to our standard hit tonight, but this is a good group that is going to learn and respond," Pope said.
There are still pieces there for Kentucky. Moreno looks like a warrior and a future first-round pick.
Diallo has flaws, but not the kind of quit that changes his approach. Wilkins has talent and room to grow.
Redshirt-freshman Braydon Hawthorne could become a real two-way force, and Momcilovic remains Momcilovic. Kentucky may eventually settle on using him more as a screener to create leverage.
But the present reality is harsher. Kentucky has only one true high-major difference-maker in the frontcourt, and the 4-spot has become a problem.
The Wildcats were outscored by 16 points in the 13 minutes Moreno sat against Kansas, while Ousmane N’Diaye and Justin McBride kept taking turns firing away on ill-advised shots. It helps explain why Kentucky wanted Mark Mitchell so badly.
For Kentucky, the night turned into a rough one in Chicago, and Stokes making life miserable only sharpened the sting. The Wildcats did not let their $20 million-plus roster speak to the media afterward, which would have been different had they won. Instead, the questions now are about what comes next.
A non-conference game with Indiana is 10 days away. Virginia and Louisville are on the December schedule. That is a lot to think about after a loss like this, especially with Pope now 29-27 against high-major teams at Kentucky.
Kansas, meanwhile, looks like a real team after just three weeks together. Kentucky is the one facing the tougher conversation.
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