FINAL: Kentucky comes up short against No. 1 Kansas in Champions Classic

Despite missing all three of its seven-footers, Kentucky put up a hell of a fight against the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t go as hoped for.

On Tuesday night in Chicago, the No. 17 Wildcats came up just short against No. 1 Kansas in the Champions Classic, falling 89-84 in a game that came down to the final few possessions. Kentucky even led by seven at halftime but coughed up a six-point lead with under four minutes left that gave a veteran Kansas squad the chance to squeak out the win.

Fifth-year guard Antonio Reeves led the way for UK with 24 points, but on a 3-17 shooting clip from long range. Freshman guard Rob Dillingham chipped in 18 points — 16 in the first half — before fouling out down the stretch. Sophomore wing Adou Thiero went for 16 points and 13 rebounds in his return. Meanwhile, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson posted an impressive 27-point, 21-rebound performance as the Jayhawks shot 47 percent overall compared to just 32 percent for the ‘Cats.

The first half started off slow for Kentucky. An immediate 9-0 hole in the opening minutes had the Big Blue Nation feeling anxious. But then Dillingham came into the game.

The freshman guard set fire to the United Center, first getting himself in a groove with a couple of tidy assists. Once he settled in, hellfire began to rain down. Dillingham connected on four straight three-pointers across just two minutes of action. Reeves would cap off the impressive 15-5 Kentucky run with a triple of his own that made it 36-30 in favor of the Wildcats with about four minutes until the intermission.

Kentucky would eventually go up by as many as 12 points in the opening half, but a pair of free throws followed by a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Dickinson cut the lead down to seven at the break, 48-41. Dickinson was already up to 13 points and 10 rebounds at this point, but Kansas struggled to find any rhythm elsewhere, shooting just 3-11 from deep.

UK even outrebounded the Jayhawks 23-21 and turned the ball over four fewer times (7-3) through 20 minutes. Dillingham added 16 points and three assists while Thiero was equally as impressive with 13 points and nine boards. Kentucky made nine three-pointers and shot 9-11 from the free-throw line.

Out of the locker room, Kentucky was on the brink of blowing Kansas right out of the building. The ‘Cats once again pushed its lead to 12 not even two minutes into the second half and soon reached a 14-point advantage. But Kansas was never going to lie down that easily. A 7-0 run by the Jayhawks was punctuated by an alley-oop slam, forcing a UK timeout with under 14 minutes to go as it was now a four-point game.

Kansas would continue to lay it on, too. A 16-2 run over four minutes gave the Jayhawks the lead back before Reeves responded with a timely three to knot the score at 65-65. At the under-eight-minute timeout, we were still tied at 70-70, although Dillingham was watching from the bench with four fouls.

UK made one more push though. With under four minutes left, Kentucky led by six, 81-75, following a pair of freebies by Reeves. But Kansas drilled a clutch three to cut that lead in half. The Jayhawks would tie the game up once again soon after at 83 before going up by two thanks to a couple of Dickinson free throws.

Kansas extended that lead to three points as the clock dipped under one minute. Reeves had back-to-back clean looks that would have tied the game once again, but neither dropped in. Kansas would call a timeout with 32 ticks left. Kentucky’s defense came up clutch though, forcing a shot clock violation.

The ‘Cats were now down three with the ball and just 18 seconds remaining in regulation. But a poor shot from freshman guard Reed Sheppard, who finished with 13 points on 4-5 shooting, hit nothing but air as Kansas would ultimately hold on to the win. Two of Kentucky’s five-star freshmen, DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards, struggled all evening, going a combined 1-18 from the field for just five points.