College Basketball on Sling: #1 Duke Battles #7 Kansas, Kentucky Freshmen Face First Test
#1 Duke (2-0) vs #7 Kansas (0-1)
9:30pm ET Tuesday on ESPN
After opening their season with a couple of wins over cupcakes, the Duke Blue Devils are ready to get serious with a showdown against the Kansas Jayhawks. On Friday Duke humiliated Marist to the tune of 94-49, with freshman Frank Jackson coming off the bench to lead all scorers with 18 points. Duke followed that up on Saturday by beating Grand Canyon 96-61, as junior Grayson Allen had a game high 25 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals. But for all the triumph, the Blue Devils continue to play shorthanded, as freshmen Harry Giles (knee), Marques Bolden (lower leg) and Jayson Tatum (foot) remain out of action.
The Jayhawks’ season opener Friday was both a more noble and humbling affair, as the Jayhawks fell in overtime 103-99 to the then 11th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Kansas senior Frank Mason III led all scorers with 30 points, and had 7 rebounds and 9 assists, but it wasn’t enough on a night when the Hoosiers shot 48.4% from 3-point land and controlled the boards 50-39. It was a seesaw battle in which Kansas led by as much as 9 early in the second half, only to fall back 87-82 with 1:24 to play, before Mason went on a 7-2 run to tie it, only to see Indiana take control in OT.
Valparaiso (3-0) vs #4 Oregon (1-0)
9pm ET Thursday on Pac-12 Network
Valpo’s Alec Peters leads his team in scoring with 26.3 ppg after Monday’s 78-58 win over the Coppin State Eagles lifted the Crusaders to 3-0. Valparaiso went 30-7 last year, and made a nice run in the NIT before falling in the semis, with Peters leading the team in points (18.4) and rebounds (8.4), but they played just one ranked opponent, losing 73-67 to Oregon.
The Ducks, meanwhile, finished last year ranked 5th in the land, falling to Oklahoma in the Elite 8 of the NCAA tourney. The mighty Ducks have picked up where they left off, with a 91-77 win over Army to start the season, behind Tyler Dorsey’s 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Duquesne (1-1) vs #2 Kentucky (2-0)
9pm ET Sunday on ESPNU
Duquesne opened the season with a 65-60 win over Loyola before falling 82-74 to Penn State. Freshmen Mike Lewis II leads the team in scoring at 13.5 ppg, followed by sophomore transfer Tarin Smith’s 10.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and 3.5 apg.
Kentucky’s amazing freshmen class was as advertised during the first weekend of play, as they beat Stephen F. Austin 87-64, and then Canisius 93-69. Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe leads the team in scoring with 19 ppg, but freshman point guard De’Aaron Fox is emerging as the de facto leader of the team with 16.5 ppg, 4 rpg, and 7.5 apg, and fellow freshmen starters Malik Monk (13 ppg, 2 rpg, 1 spg, 1 bpg) and Edrice Adebayo (9.5 ppg, 6 rpg) are getting it done as well. But before facing Duquesne, they’ll first be dealing with #13 Michigan State, who lost their opener to Arizona.
Here’s this week’s full lineup of top 25 action on Sling:
Tuesday
#4 Oregon (1-0) vs Baylor (1-0)
3:30pm ET on ESPN2
#2 Kentucky (2-0) vs #13 Michigan State (0-1)
7:00pm ET on ESPN
#9 Wisconsin (1-0) vs #22 Creighton (1-0)
8:30pm ET on FS1
#1 Duke (2-0) vs #7 Kansas (0-1)
9:30pm ET on ESPN
CSU Bakersfield (1-0) vs #10 Arizona (1-0)
10:00pm ET on Pac-12 Network
Wednesday
UC Irvine (1-1) vs #25 Cal (1-0)
11:00pm ET Pac-12 Network
Thursday
Western Michigan (1-1) vs #3 Villanova (2-0)
11:30am ET on ESPN2
#11 Xavier (2-0) vs Missouri (1-0)
1:30pm ET on ESPNU
Chicago State (1-0) vs #9 Wisconsin (1-0)
8pm ET on ESPN3
Valparaiso (3-0) vs #4 Oregon (1-0)
9pm ET on Pac-12 Network
San Diego (0-2) vs #16 UCLA (2-0)
11pm ET on Pac-12 Network
Friday
Siena (1-0) vs #7 Kansas (0-1)
8pm ET on ESPN3
Bryant (0-1) vs #14 Gonzaga (2-0)
8:30pm ET on ESPN3
Sacred Heart (0-1) vs #10 Arizona (1-0)
10pm ET Pac-12 Network
Saturday
Penn State (1-1) vs #1 Duke (2-0)
12:30pm ET on ESPN3
#21 Rhode Island (2-0) vs #24 Cincinnati (2-0)
3pm ET on ESPN3
Sunday
Duquesne (1-1) vs #2 Kentucky (2-0)
9pm ET on ESPNU
Watch college basketball on ESPN and ESPN2 by subscribing to Sling Orange, on ESPNU and ESPN3 with Sling Orange and Sports Extra, on the Pac-12 Network with Sling’s Sports Extra package, and on FS1 with Sling Blue
All stats courtesy ESPN and College Basketball Reference.