Rauf Report: Why Blackwell & Momcilovic have underperformed, a look at Illinois defense & more

On the biggest stage of the college basketball season to date, Michigan State made the biggest statement.

The Spartans entered the Champions Classic as a 7.5-point underdog against Duke and never trailed in a 79-73 win. It was Tom Izzo's first victory over Jon Scheyer and Michigan State's first over Duke since 2020.

Jeremy Fears Jr. was the best player on the floor from the opening tip, finishing with 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. He had eight of those assists by halftime, and Michigan State took a 34-25 lead into the break. Jordan Scott was a problem around the rim all night, with six blocks and nine rebounds.

Izzo pushed back afterward on the idea that Michigan State no longer belongs in this event, saying his recent teams have held up their end of the deal. This group looks more than capable of doing the same.

Kansas' win was even more impressive given what it was dealing with. Starting point guard Melvin Council Jr. broke a bone in his foot in practice Monday, giving Bill Self about a day to reshuffle his backcourt. His answer was to hand the ball to two freshmen who grew up in Kentucky.

Tay Kinney ran the offense and handed out eight assists, while Tyran Stokes looked right at home in his first big test with 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Tre White added a career-high 30, and Kansas beat the Wildcats by 20 with 24 assists on 32 field goals. The Jayhawks also outscored Kentucky 22-0 in points off turnovers.

While I am concerned about Kentucky moving forward, I am not worried about Duke.

The Blue Devils shot 7-of-29 from three and missed 11 free throws in a six-point loss. They are also still sorting out a rotation that's replacing the National Player of the Year, and it ran into a physical, veteran-led team with one of the best point guards in the country. Even so, Duke cut it to five with two minutes left.

Scheyer didn't sugarcoat it, saying postgame that “our fans deserve better” and that his team needed to be tougher. He's right about that. But the talent that made Duke the No. 2 team in the country didn't disappear in Chicago, and most of what went wrong on Tuesday is fixable.

There's one adjustment in particular I'd like to see, and that's where we start.

Duke needs John Blackwell to be more than a spot-up shooter

Duke’s half-court offense had few answers for Michigan State on Tuesday. The Blue Devils shot 33.3 percent for the night, and too many possessions ended with the ball moving around the perimeter and nobody beating his man off the bounce.

Fixing that is a big reason Duke went after John Blackwell, the top guard in the transfer portal this past spring. He averaged 19.1 points at Wisconsin last season with a usage rate that ranked in the top 250 nationally, and much of that production came from getting downhill, scoring off the dribble, and creating his own offense.

Three games in, though, Duke has mostly used him as a spot-up shooter.