State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA

In the newly evolving NIL era of NCAA athletics, the jerseys and colors may change on the front, but the rivalry of playing against a familiar opponent never fades. This was the case for Hunter Dickinson who admitted as much in his second year as a Kansas Jayhawk, going up against former Big Ten rival, Michigan State on Tuesday in Atlanta for the annual Champions Classic.

The forward carried the bulk of their offensive output early to pace the top-ranked Jayhawks in a 77-69 win at State Farm arena to move to 3-0 while MSU falls to 2-1 on the young season. Dickinson finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds on 13-21 FG shooting and 3 steals. Rylan Griffen tallied 10 points while Dajuan Harris Jr chipped in with 11 points.

The win puts coach Bill Self as the all-time winningest Jayhawk coach at 591, passing the legendary Phog Allen’s previous record. With the moderately recent retirements of Coach K, Roy Williams, Tony Bennett, Larry Brown and Jim Boeheim the opportunity for two active Naismith Hall of Fame coaches becomes a rare treat for college basketball fans alike, in both Self and MSU’s Tom Izzo.

Leading Coach Izzo’s Spartans was Frankie Fidler (transfer from Nebraska Omaha) with 15 points (8 coming from the charity stripe) and 8 rebounds while fellow starter Jeremy Fears Jr. contributed 9 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals who also dealt with foul trouble. Bench players Jaxon Kohler recorded his second double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) while Carson Cooper and Jase Richardson each chipped in with 8 points each.

For a 10-minute stretch (inside the 14-minute mark of the 1st half to around the 4-minute mark) the Jayhawks and Spartans endured a physical run of quick transitions, several hustle plays on tipped rebounds and loose balls as a result of many missed shots. Despite that, there were 5 ties and 6 lead changes as neither team seemed poised to take control heading into halftime. Kansas quickly took a 30-20 lead prior to Richardson capitalizing on And-1 off a made 3-pointer, cutting it to six, 24-30 at the half.

It’s pretty clear Jase has the JUICE. Going to have to play him more going forward preferably beside Fears. Really like him coming down off pin downs and curls in the half court. Most dynamic perimeter scorer on the team right now. Got to lean into it. pic.twitter.com/LGDz3RApNC

— DK (@SpartanHoops_DK) November 14, 2024

Another 8-minute stretch in the second half would see more of the same battling, baskets being traded, better offensive execution including some transition points that helped keep the Spartans in the game and within striking distance. Alas, the cold streak that saw them score two points from 5:30 remaining of the 1st to Richardson’s 3-pointer with under 30 seconds left, reared its ugly head again at MSU. The Spartans sat on 59 from the 5:25 mark for three minutes until 2:28 when Coen Carr made a basket to end the drought, but the Jayhawks had established a run keeping them 6-8 points ahead as the final stretch neared.

While MSU would ultimately fall 69-77, the takeaways are pretty positive. Their offensive shot selection was good overall but there were times in the second half that it seemed the officials let a little more go on MSU’s attacking possessions, compared to Kansas. The Spartans shot 18-21 from the free-throw line (85.7%) but was edged out on total rebounds (4), assists (6), points in the paint (6) but did manage to win the fastbreak point total of 18-13.

The defensive side was active, bodies and arms going up and tipping contested rebounds to keep alive for teammates and only a few missed assignments on boxouts lead to a handful of simpler offensive rebounds for Kansas. Both teams were crashing the glass and battling for position in the paint.

Overall, this was MSU’s first real test after starting the year off against Niagara and Monmouth and if the Jayhawks are the barometer to test your metal, then Coach Izzo and company should have little to worry about as their young team continues to gel and mature into a deep Big Ten contender. They will have another run of tests in Hawaii at the Maui Invitational starting off against Colorado then the winner of defending champion UConn/Memphis and a third match against one of UNC, Dayton, Iowa State or Auburn.

This roster is considerably different from last season with the additions of transfer seniors Fidler and 7-footer Szymon Zapala (Utah St/Long Island). Joining them are freshman: Jesse McCulloch (Lutheran East HS), Kur Teng (Bradford Christian Academy) and brothers Brennan & Colin Walton (Okemos HS). Redshirt freshman Gehrig Normand will be available after redshirting last season to improve strength and shot technique as laid out prior to the 2023-2024 season. Overall, the length and athleticism combined with depth that can go 10 deep every night will give the team more options, threats and flexibility for Coach Izzo and staff when scheming opponents.

MSU will have a pair of home games prior to Maui with Bowling Green Saturday, 11/16 for a 6pm tip off (EST) followed by Samford on Tuesday, 11/19 at 8pm (EST).

-Devin Fossen