Kentucky lost 89-69 to Kansas on Tuesday, the Wildcats’ worst Champions Classic defeat since 2018. The margin is not the problem. One early first-half sequence made the gap between these two programs look structural rather than accidental, and that is the part Mark Pope cannot scheme his way out of.
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With about 16:05 left in the first half, Kansas star Tyran Stokes stole the ball from Kentucky’s Franck Kepnang and fell to the ground. Immediately, the 7’0 Ousmane N’Diaye covered Stokes, having a horizontal tug-of-war. The referee stopped the play, and Stokes started clapping, seemingly happy with the result. Then, N’Diaye asked Stokes to get up. But when Stokes started taking his sweet time, N’Diaye started pulling the Kansas star’s right hand. It was not long before both benches took over the court to separate the heated altercation.
In the end, N’Diaye picked up a technical foul following a sequence with Kansas guard Tay Kinney after the back-and-forth with Stokes. Kinney also shared the same fate as N’Diaye. Meanwhile, Malachi Moreno picked up two fouls in the same amount of time.
With the Wildcats’ size advantage neutralized, freshman Stokes got the last laugh, as he scored 23 points with 4-of-8 shots from outside the arc, 10 rebounds, and four assists. He scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half to drive Kansas to a 10-point lead entering the break.
“I actually thought he handled the moment better than I actually anticipated… He’s very emotional, which is a big, big plus. Nobody should take that as a negative. But I didn’t want him to be too geeked up where he couldn’t play.” Jayhawks head coach Bill Self said about Stokes.
Stokes grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He then became the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, and when his final two came down to Kentucky and Kansas, he picked Kansas. Now he is back in his hometown for the Classic, wearing the wrong shade of blue.
“When I chose Kansas and I knew that game was going to be here, it was personal for sure… But we got the (win) … and that’s all that matters,” Stokes said, according to the Associated Press.
“Growing up, obviously you know the tradition and the rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky, so being from Louisville I still got (those) same emotions as if I was playing for Louisville,” Stokes said.
Tre White played like he had something to prove, and the proof came against Louisville. One season with the Cardinals was enough for him to know exactly what he was walking into at the Classic. He answered with 30 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes. Stokes was not the only Kansas player making a personal statement.
“Definitely personal… We’ve got some guys from Louisville over there, so it was definitely an amped-up, emotional game.” White said.
Overall, Kansas is now 4-2 against Kentucky at the Classic. This game highlighted how the Wildcats need to upgrade their defensive rebounding, as Kentucky basically got bullied in that aspect.
With Kansas having a flawless 3-0 and Kentucky now hitting an early bump, it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats fare in Pope’s third season, and whether he will even be on the sidelines by the next Champions Classic against Kansas.