Another Year, Another Loss In The Champions Classic

The Champions Classic hasn’t been a good event for Kentucky Basketball lately. Last night, the Wildcats blew a 14-point, second-half lead to the No. 1 team in the country, losing 89-84 to Kansas in Chicago. The loss left questions of what could’ve been had UK held on and uncrowned top-ranked Kansas this early in the year and what could’ve been done differently to seize the enormous opportunity. John Calipari couldn’t ask for much more after the game, other than to win. The fan base found hope for the future in defeat, too.

But Rob Dillingham‘s 3-point barrage in the first half and Kentucky’s new, exciting brand of basketball don’t change the fact that Kentucky keeps losing in the Champions Classic. And it is getting old, especially for those who keep spending the money to show up. The Wildcats have now lost four straight games in the four-team college basketball showcase, and even worse, six of the last seven going back to 2017. The one win in that span came in 2019 when Tyrese Maxey exploded for 26 points in the upset of then-No. 1 Michigan State in New York.

There was some fun in the early years, too. In the inaugural Champions Classic in 2011, a new Kentucky starting five of Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, and Anthony Davis combined for 70 of Kentucky’s 75 points. Those guys turned out OK.

Then, Kentucky won three straight Champions Classic games in 2014, 2015, and 2016, beating each of the other three teams consecutively.

But otherwise, Kentucky and Michigan State share the worst record (5-8) of the four participants.

Kentucky in the Champions Classic

Year	Opponent	Result	Score	Location
2011	Kansas	W	75 – 65	New York
2012	Duke	L	68 – 75	Atlanta
2013	Michigan State	L	74 – 78	Chicago
2014	Kansas	W	72 – 40	Indianapolis
2015	Duke	W	74 – 63	Chicago
2016	Michigan State	W	69 – 48	New York
2017	Kansas	L	61 – 65	Chicago
2018	Duke	L	84 – 118	Indianapolis
2019	Michigan State	W	69 – 62	New York
2020	Kansas	L	62 – 65	Indianapolis
2021	Duke	L	71 – 79	New York
2022	Michigan State	L	77 – 86 2 OT	Indianapolis
2023	Kansas	L	89 – 84	Chicago
2024	Duke			Atlanta

Champions Classic Head-To-Head Records

	Duke	Kansas	Kentucky	Michigan State
vs. Duke	–	3–1	1–3	1–4
vs. Kansas	1–3	–	2–3	2–2
vs. Kentucky	3–1	3–2	–	2–2
vs. Michigan State	4–1	2–2	2–2	–
Total	8–5	8–5	5–8	5–8

Bad Draws

Without making an excuse for Kentucky’s losing record at the Champions Classic, let’s point out how often ESPN and the Champions Classic have asked Kentucky and its fans to stay up past their bedtimes.

According to the research of @bigbluehistory, Kentucky has played in the late game in 9 of 13 Champions Classic events, tying Kansas for the most late-night tips. Duke has played six times in the 9:30 p.m. (or later) game, while Michigan State has only stayed up late twice at the Champions Classic.

Kentucky played one early game–last season against Michigan State–in the last seven events.

Later In The Season

In some years, like when Kentucky got dusted by Duke in 2018, the Champions Classic was the first game of the season, making it even harder on John Calipari’s young teams. Before Kentucky’s trip to Chicago this week, Calipari revealed that he pushed to move it further back on the calendar to allow a few games before putting four blue bloods on one big November stage.

“I pushed for us to move it back a little bit because I thought the games would be a little better,” he explained.

Atlanta in 2024

Before the 2023 Champions Classic tipped off, the announcement was made that it will move to Atlanta in 2024, where Kentucky will try to break out of its funk against Duke on November 12 at State Farm Arena.

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