CHICAGO -- Kansas didn’t need much time to look like a team with real teeth.
With just three weeks of practice under its belt with Trey Kaufman-Renn, No. 15 Kansas rolled past No.
24 Kentucky 89-69 on Tuesday in a Champions Classic matchup that exposed how far apart these two teams are right now. Kentucky has been at this since mid-June.
Kansas, even without injured guard Melvin Council Jr., looked sharper, cleaner and far more connected.
Kaufman-Renn was the engine. He finished with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists without a turnover, and his passing opened everything up around him.
Tre White cashed in for 30 points on 16 shots, while future No. 1 pick Tyran Stokes added another layer of force to a Kansas offense that kept finding answers. Bill Self was pleased with how quickly the group has started to click.
"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."
That showed up in the box score. Kansas scored 14 points directly off cuts, and nine of those came off Kaufman-Renn assists.
Kentucky never found that kind of rhythm. The Wildcats got hit early when sophomore big man Malachi Moreno picked up his second foul with 16:37 left in the first half, limiting him to seven first-half minutes after what looked like a bad whistle.
From there, the offense bogged down fast. Outside of Zoom Diallo pull-ups and contested post-ups from Moreno, Kentucky had a hard time creating anything clean.
The Wildcats scored only four points directly off cuts.
That’s a rough look for a team that spent the offseason selling its playmaking and shooting. Kentucky brought in creators and pointed to the assist numbers of Diallo and Furman transfer Alex Wilkins.
Diallo showed some shot-making, but the starting backcourt combined for just one assist and seven turnovers. That’s not the kind of ratio that travels well against a high-major opponent.
Kentucky also added shooting in the spring, hoping Milan Momcilovic, Ousmane N’Diaye and Justin McBride would give the frontcourt the spacing it lacked a year ago. Instead, Kansas stayed glued to Momcilovic, who managed only three 3-point attempts. The best shooter in college basketball didn’t get much room to breathe, and Kentucky’s half-court offense never really found a way to loosen the defense.
Right now, the issue is speed of decision-making. Kentucky is playing too slowly and too predictably, which gives disciplined defenses the chance to smother possessions before they get started.
Maybe this was just one ugly November night. But it didn’t look like a fluke.
"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 reasons to believe Kentucky can still become something better. Moreno plays with the right edge and looks like a future first-round pick.
Diallo isn’t a quitter. Wilkins has talent and room to grow.
Redshirt-freshman Braydon Hawthorne could become a real two-way piece, and Momcilovic may need to be used more as a screener to create better looks. That’s the optimistic read.
But the reality from Tuesday was harsher. Kentucky has only one true high-major difference-maker in the frontcourt, and when Moreno sat, Kansas outscored the Wildcats by 16 points in those 13 minutes. The 4-spot was a problem all night, with Ousmane N’Diaye and Justin McBride taking turns forcing shots that didn’t belong.
It was a night that made the questions louder. Kansas looked like a team coming together fast.
Kentucky looked like a team that still has a long way to go, with a non-conference game against Indiana coming in 10 days and December matchups with Virginia and Louisville looming. After this one, the concerns around Pope’s group are impossible to ignore.
In Other News...
Kansas Freshmen Just Gave Fans A Dangerous Glimpse Against Kentucky
A nationally televised win over Kentucky gave Kansas fans an early look at what this freshman class can do when it starts clicking. Tyran Stokes set the tone with 23 points and four three-pointers, while Taylen Kinney kept the offense moving with eight assists in an 89-69 rout that felt as much about promise as it did about the final margin.
For Jayhawks supporters, the most interesting part may be where this goes next. Both Stokes and Kinney were heavily recruited by Kentucky, and they made a point of showing their value in a game that carried plenty of attention beyond the box score. If this is the kind of impact Kansas can get from its freshmen this early, the rest of the season could get very interesting in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Just Sent An Early Warning To The Rest Of College Basketball
The Champions Classic offered an early snapshot of where the college basketball powers stand, and Kansas left Madison Square Garden with the kind of win that tends to travel. While Michigan States upset of Duke grabbed plenty of attention, the Jayhawks handled Kentucky and reinforced why they are already being viewed as a team with the look of a serious national contender. It was the sort of opening-night result that can shape the conversation around a program before conference play even begins.
For Kansas, the win also came against a Kentucky team that still has obvious questions to sort through, especially at point guard and at power forward. Duke, meanwhile, was left to regroup after an uneven offensive showing despite its talent, while Emoni Bates continued to draw eyes as one of the early NBA draft names to watch with his improved outside shooting and assertive style. For the Jayhawks, the bigger takeaway is simple: they did not just survive a marquee stage, they used it to send a message. [Read more 🡒]
Tyran Stokes Just Gave Kansas Fans A Reason To Dream
Tyran Stokes gave Kansas plenty to feel good about in the Champions Classic, turning in a 23-point, 10-rebound effort in an 89-69 win over Kentucky. The freshman forward looked comfortable in a big setting, and Bill Self pointed to the way Stokes handled his emotions while still staying effective from start to finish.
For Stokes, the matchup carried extra weight. He grew up in Louisville and was recruited by Kentucky, so the stage had a little more meaning than most November games, and he said as much afterward while crediting his coaches for the confidence he showed in his shooting. For Kansas, the encouraging part is not just the performance itself, but the possibility that a young player already looks ready for nights when the spotlight is brightest. [Read more 🡒]