Allen, No. 1 Duke top Michigan St.
CHICAGO — Grayson Allen — Duke’s lone senior — scored a career-high 37 points, freshman Trevon Duval had 17 points and 10 assists, and the top-ranked Blue Devils beat No. 2 Michigan State 8881 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night.
On a court full of some of college basketball’s brightest stars, Allen stepped up whenever his team needed a big play. The Blue Devils (3-0) lost Marvin Bagley III to an eye injury midway through the first half, but Allen made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points in the second half to help make up for the missing freshman phenom.
Wendell Carter Jr. added 12 points and 12 rebounds, helping Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski improve to 12-1 in his career against Michigan State.
Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Nick Ward each scored 19 points for the Spartans, who blocked 12 shots — just one shy of the school record. Michigan State (1-1) shot 51 percent from the field, but was outrebounded 46-34 by the long and athletic Blue Devils.
The 42nd meeting of the top two schools in The AP poll since 1949 lived up to its pregame hype, with Duke and Michigan State exchanging runs for most of the night at the home of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. Each team had its sloppy moments typical of a mid-November game, but they also brought the crowd to its feet several times with an array of impressive jams and emphatic rejections at the rim.
KANSAS 65, KENTUCKY 61: Svi Mykhailiuk scored 17 points, and Devonte Graham hit the clinching free throws to give the No. 4 Jayhawks a victory over the No. 7 Wildcats that put coach Bill Self in a tie for second with Roy Williams on the Jayhawks’ all-time wins list. In a game that matched the two winningest Division I programs, the Jayhawks (2-0) prevailed after the two teams spent most of the second half trading baskets and leads. Malik Newman had a key rebound in the closing seconds and hit two foul shots to help Kansas knock off the Wildcats (2-1).
ST. JOHN’S 80, CCSU 55: Shamorie Ponds scored 21 points and Marcus Lovett scored 15 for host St. John. Ponds added nine rebounds and three steals for the Red Storm (2-0).
UCONN 72, STONY BROOK 64: In Hartford, guard Jalen Adams came back from a one-game suspension to score 19 points as the Huskies came back from a nine-point deficit with just 5½ minutes to play.
SYRACUSE 71, IONA 62: Tyus Battle scored a career-high 28 points to lead the host Orange (2-0). Rickey McGill led Iona (0-2) with 21 points. — AP PHOTO BY AP