By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky gave top-ranked Kansas all it could handle before the Jayhawks escaped with an 89-84 triumph in the State Farm Champions Classic Tuesday night at the United Center in Chicago.
The No. 17 Wildcats (2-1) missed their last eight shots and were outscored 11-1 in the final three minutes as Kansas (3-0) collected its third straight win over the Wildcats in the prestigious event.
Kentucky placed four players in double figures with three of them notching career highs.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari shouts from the sidelines Tuesday night in Chicago (Photo by Erin Hooley, AP, via Kentucky Today)
In his return to his native Chicago, Antonio Reeves scored a team-high 24 points, while freshmen Rob Dillingham (18) and Reed Sheppard (13) established career-highs three games into the season. Adou Thiero tallied 16 points, also a career high.
Thiero returned to the starting lineup after missing the team’s previous contest against Texas A&M Commerce because of concussion protocols. Thiero was a big factor in the opening half.
Thiero gave the Wildcats a lift with 13 points and nine rebounds during the first 20 points, but it was the play of Sheppard and Dillingham who gave Kentucky a spark after the Jayhawks scored the first nine points and opened with an 11-3 lead five minutes into the contest.
Sheppard knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, while Dillingham put on a display of his own with four treys during an impressive spurt as Kentucky turned the early deficit into a 48-36 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the first half. Dillingham scored 16 points in the first half.
Hunter Dickinson, who led Kansas with 13 points in the opening half, drained a 3-pointer as time expired to end the half that trimmed the margin to 48-41 at the break. Dickinson, a transfer from Michigan who considered transferring to Kentucky this summer, led all scorers with 27 points and 21 rebounds.
Kentucky shot just 33 percent from the field, but connected on 12 3-pointers and stayed close on the glass despite a size disadvantage. Kansas edged Kentucky 45-42 in the rebounding department.
In the opener, Duke defeated Michigan State 74-65 to improve to 2-1 on the season. Michiagn State slipped to 1-2 on the year.
Peachy
The State Farm Champions Classic will return to Atlanta for the second time next season.
Kansas will take on Michigan State, followed by Kentucky and Duke in the blockbuster doubleheader next year at State Farm Arena.
The site and venue for the 2025 Classic will be announced at a later date. Tickets will go on sale next fall.
Gametracker: Stonehill at Kentucky, 7 p.m. Friday. TV/Radio: ESPN+ and UK Radio Network.
