The No. 15 ranked Kansas Jayhawks made a big statement with a dominant 89-69 win over No. 24 Kentucky on Tuesday night in this year’s Champions Classic. It was the largest margin of victory for KU since the Champions Classic began in 2011.
It was a back-and-forth contest midway through the first half, but once Kansas took a 20-17 lead thanks to a 3-pointer made by freshman Tyran Stokes with about 11 minutes to go, they never looked back.
Here are five things that stood out about the Jayhawks’ impressive win.
Tyran Stokes
Stokes looked like the No. 1 recruit in the country and was the best player on the floor all night for either team.
He finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field, had 10 rebounds, and dished out four assists. He was a playmaker in every sense of the word – creating shots for himself, creating shots for teammates, and giving all-out effort on defense and on the glass.
He didn’t shy away from the bright lights at all – in fact, he seemed to embrace it. That’s a great sign for Kansas moving forward with many more big games still to come.
Trey Kaufman-Renn
Trey Kaufman-Renn is absolutely a difference maker for this Kansas team and it showed in the win tonight.
He finished the evening with 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists – the latter of which was second on the team behind Taylen Kinney’s eight.
He just has a calm, confident presence about him and he’s a really efficient finisher inside the paint, going 4-for-5 on the night. He has a good chance of being the most consistent player night in and night out for KU this season.
Fast-break offense
KU looked really impressive with their up-tempo offense tonight.
Kinney was lightning fast with the ball in his hands and Kentucky just didn’t seem to have any answers to stopping the Jayhawks’ offense – especially in the first half.
It’s a testament both to KU’s speed and athleticism that they have on the team this year, and it will allow them to match up against just about any type of team this season.
Tre White
Tre White simply could not be stopped by Kentucky on defense.
He finished the game with a season-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. He was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
His outside scoring ability is a huge asset to this team that they otherwise would be lacking had he not been deemed eligible this season. His ability to stretch the defense, combined with Stokes’ ability to create plays and Kaufman-Renn’s ability to finish inside – will make KU lethal on offense this season.
The Kansas bench
Despite having one of the deepest rosters in recent years at Kansas, the Jayhawks saw very little production out of their bench tonight.
Between Keanu Dawes, Christian Reeves, Trent Perry, and Dennis Parker Jr. – the four combined for just 12 of KU’s 89 points on the night. But that’s less a discredit to them as it is to how well the starters played tonight.
Nonetheless, you’d like to see a bit more production from them in the future versus relying so heavily on the starters to generate points.
Check out the KCSN official website and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram for the latest KU basketball and football news.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
