Tyran Stokes looked every bit like the prize Kentucky chased and didn’t land.
On Tuesday night at the United Center, the 6-foot-8 wing from Louisville powered No. 15 Kansas to an 89-69 win over the 24th-ranked Wildcats in the Champions Classic, and he did it with the kind of all-around impact Kentucky has been searching for.
Stokes finished with 21 points on 8 of 19 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out four assists. He also knocked down 4 of 8 from 3-point range, a sharp contrast to the 1 of 4 he had made combined in Kansas’ first four games.
The recruiting battle between the Jayhawks and Wildcats made Stokes the headline, but Kansas had plenty of help around him. Tre White poured in 30 points, and Trey Kaufman-Renn added 12 as the Jayhawks kept Kentucky under constant pressure.
Kentucky had some scoring, but not enough control. The Wildcats shot 46.4% from the field, yet they spent much of the night chasing possessions.
Kansas finished with 10 more field-goal attempts, including a 13-shot edge in the first half, built on offensive rebounding and Kentucky turnovers. The Jayhawks also outscored UK 22-0 in points off turnovers.
Zoom Diallo had the best game of his young Kentucky career, scoring 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. But the Washington transfer didn’t record an assist, and Kentucky finished with just 13 as a team. Milan Momcilovic was largely quiet, Ousmane N’Diaye and Justin McBride combined for only six shot attempts and four rebounds, and Mason Williams managed four points in 17 minutes while going 0 for 3.
Early foul trouble made the rotation even messier. Malachi Moreno picked up his second foul 3:23 into the game.
Less than a minute later, N’Diaye was whistled for two fouls on the same play, including a technical that counted as a personal, and he grabbed his third at the 15:40 mark of the first half on a moving screen. That forced Mark Pope into some unusual frontcourt combinations.
Franck Kepnang entered after Moreno’s second foul, and Kentucky tried to feed him inside without much success. Reece Potter also saw brief first-half action after barely playing in the season opener against Manhattan and not appearing in the win over James Madison. He was on the floor for three minutes, and Kansas outscored Kentucky by 10 during that stretch.
Moreno did finish with 19 points, but many of those came after the game had already tilted heavily toward Kansas. The bigger issue for Kentucky was the way the game slipped away in the first half.
A pair of Mason Williams free throws put the Wildcats ahead 15-11 with 12:32 left before halftime. Kansas then ripped off a 15-2 run, and Stokes was at the center of it.
He scored 10 of those points, drilled a 3-pointer at 11:11 to put the Jayhawks ahead 20-17, then slammed home a dunk at 9:09 to make it 26-17. Kentucky never got closer than five the rest of the half.
Kansas led 46-36 at the break and kept Kentucky from getting back into single digits after halftime.
Stokes was the night’s defining force, even with White posting the game-high scoring total. He set the tone, drew attention and made Kansas’ offense hum. Except for a few first-half possessions where Braydon Hawthorne defended him well, Stokes looked comfortable all night.
One more note from the box score: Momcilovic, who was the nation’s best 3-point shooter a season ago at Iowa State, didn’t take his first 3-pointer until the 15:31 mark of the second half. He finally connected with 6:53 remaining and finished 1 of 3 from deep.
In Other News...
Kentucky Finally Got Clarity On Two Injuries That Could Shape The Stretch
Kentucky finally has a clearer picture on two defensive injuries that have lingered since the South Carolina game in early October. Nickel cornerback Jaden Smith tore his ACL in that matchup and will miss the rest of the season, a tough blow for a defense that has had to adjust without one of its key pieces in the secondary.
There is at least a sliver of better news on linebacker Antwan Smith, who underwent ankle surgery after the same game and could still have a path back for postseason play. With both players sidelined for weeks already, the latest update gives Kentucky a better sense of what it can and cannot count on as the season moves into its final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys Biggest Problem Showed Up Again In Ugly Kansas Loss
Kentucky came out with energy in Chicago and looked ready to make a statement in the Champions Classic, but the game quickly turned once Kansas started applying pressure. The Wildcats were undone by the same issues that have lingered around them, with turnovers feeding the Jayhawks run game and defensive breakdowns making it hard to recover after the opening stretch.
Zoom Diallo did his part with 24 points, and Malachi Morenos foul trouble only added to Kentuckys problems as the frontcourt rotation thinned out. Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds in the 89-69 loss, leaving Kentucky with another reminder that its margin for error shrinks fast when the ball security and physical defense are not there. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Still Has One Thing That Could Wreck Kentuckys Plans
Kentuckys playoff path took a hit in Week 10 with a six-point showing against Tennessee, and now the Wildcats head into a crucial home game against Florida with little margin for error. Kenny Minchey has given Kentucky a steady hand at quarterback this season, throwing 14 touchdowns against two interceptions, and the Wildcats will need that kind of efficiency again if they want to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Florida has its own issues on defense, but the Gators still bring one wrinkle that could make this matchup tricky for Kentucky. They have not named a starting quarterback for the game, leaving some uncertainty about what the Wildcats will see on the other side, and with both defenses showing vulnerabilities, this one has the feel of a game where one mistake could swing the whole thing. [Read more 🡒]