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Good morning Big Blue Nation!
Hopefully we aren’t struggling too bad with a case of the Mondays as there is a big week ahead of us. While the football team has been in the headlines ever since late August, the basketball team is about to have their moment as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Duke Blue Devils in the Champions Classic.
While the Kentucky Wildcats looked like world beaters in the Bahamas, their two exhibition games against Transy and IUP left a lot to be desired on the defensive side of things.
To be fair, John Calipari used a number of different line-ups and I think he will have an idea of a more solid, defensively minded rotation vs. Duke.
In a little over 24 hours, two of the most storied programs in college basketball wil kickoff their seasons with star studded teams and eyes on the Final Four.
Tweets of the Day
Cal is hoping have a few guys who have played in big games at the college level already will pay dividends.
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 4, 2018
"We have a couple of guys that should not be anxious, but, you know, this has become – maybe because of where they’ve placed it – this has become a humongous event."
Kentucky going into a game where they have major contributors as veterans is a rarity. Will it matter against Duke?
Quickies
Will Kentucky’s vets give them an edge against Duke | Cats Pause- Reid Travis, Nick Richards, Quade Green, and PJ Washington have all played meaningful minutes in college basketball. Duke’s starting five cannot boast the same thing. But will their talent overcome their lack of in-game experience?
68 things to get excited about for college basketball season | CBS- College basketball’s premier event has always been the tournament but the Champion’s Classic has emerged at second place.
Yes, as the dateline shows, I’m in Indianapolis for Tuesday’s Champions Classic -- which is the perfect way to launch a season. It’s No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 10 Michigan State in the early game, then No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Duke in the nightcap. So we’ll have four top-10 teams, four Hall of Fame coaches and five likely top-10 picks -- among them the probable No. 1 overall pick -- inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Just a tremendous double-header. So let’s get this thing going by focusing on both games and the teams involved.
5 big questions for Champions Classic | Busting Brackets- My big questions are how will Kentucky approach defending Duke and will the Kentucky freshmen play with a chip on their shoulder.
Who will have the edge in the Champions Classic? | Sports Illustrated- SI likes Kentucky in this game by a slim margin and honestly that’s the way I am leaning at the moment. The big question for Duke is do they have anybody at all that can shoot from the outside at a consistent level.
Will election night doom Champions Classic ratings | Awful Announcing- It’s no secret that this is one of the most contentious times in the history of American politics and these midterm elections will be huge. With a nation’s focus on politics, will the Champions Classic be ignored or will the country need a distraction from the debacle that has become our government?
Looking past the hype is the first step in a long journey | UK Athletics- The season isn’t over after Tuesday but one cannot look past the fact that the contest against Duke is one helluva measuring stick to start it all off.
First Up: Kentucky | Duke Basketball Report- I get the feeling after reading this that the Duke faithful are a little less sure of their team than Kentucky’s fans. Sure, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and RJ Barrett are a great triple threat, but what about the rest of the team?