The early part of the college basketball season is kicking off with some very exciting games and after Michigan State and Kentucky play on Tuesday, the Kansas Jayhawks will matchup against the Duke Blue Devils in the State Farm Champions Classic starting up at 9:30 pm on ESPN from the United Center and streaming on the radio live from ESPN Radio online.
The Blue Devils come into the matchup ranked in the top five along with Kansas and that puts four of the top five ranked teams in the nation in action at the United Center on Monday night and both games should be very exciting, including the late game with freshman stars Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker going up against each other for the Jayhawks and Blue Devils. The teams come in after winning their opening games in blowout fashion and Duke shot the lights out against Davidson for their first victory of the season, as the team shot over 70 percent from the field and looked very efficient on offense and that will be something that is essential as they take on one of the best defensive teams in the nation in Kansas. Both coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Bill Self realize that this early test could set the tone for the rest of the season and helps start off their teams with a big challenge.
Check here for the radio ESPN coverage for the Blue Devils and Jayhawks.
The Blue Devils totally blew out Davidson and now they have a tough first game against a ranked team before playing against Michigan and UCLA later next month and those games should be very good as well. Both teams have highly regarded recruits as freshman players and Duke comes in with Jabari Parker, while the Jayhawks have Andrew Wiggins and he is considered to be the top talent in college basketball and could be the number one player taken in the draft when and if he leaves after this season and many feel that he will be a one and done player. According to ESPN.com, it's the first time in quite a few years that two players ranked in the top five of the top 100 will play against each other and that makes the game even more anticipated.
Duke comes into the game a bit hotter in the head to head matchups, as they have won three of four games against Kansas and seven of nine overall and this will be another time that the matchups comes in neutral territory and that could make it a very even matchup, as the Cameron Crazies will be there but in the same way when the game is in North Carolina at home. Kansas and Duke have been the top two winningest teams in college basketball over the past 15 years says ESPN and Kansas comes in with a top two recruiting class this year and that could give them the edge over the Blue Devils.
Wiggins comes into the game after scoring 16 points in his debut while Parker added 22 and now they will get the chance to face each other as the top ranked young players in all of college basketball. The choice of schools for the players was followed very closely by fans and the media and now they have the chance to shape what happens in Men's college basketball this season. Kansas has some tough games coming up against ranked teams as well, including on the road against Florida and at home against New Mexico and other ranked teams on the schedule includes Oklahoma State and Baylor. Last season both teams played very well and now they have championship expectations heading into the 2014 tournament and both Self and Krzyzewski are ready for a stiff test on Tuesday night.
The game will be airing on ESPN for the State Farm Champions Classic between the Duke Blue Devils and the Kansas Jayhawks and it will be from the United Center in Chicago starting up at 9:30 pm.