Around the Top 25 (College Basketball): Week 2
The 2022-23 college basketball season is in full swing, and this week, some early season tournaments began resulting in excellent inter-conference matchups.
Michigan State upsets No. 4 Kentucky, No. 6 Kansas defeats No. 7 Duke and No. 11 Texas tops No. 2 Gonzaga.
Let’s look at what happened this past week around the top 25.
Michigan State upsets No. 4 Kentucky
After narrowly losing to Gonzaga in Peraton Armed Forces Classic, Tom Izzo’s squad made it clear that they could hang with the nation's top squads.
On Tuesday, when the Michigan State Spartans squared off against the fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in the State Farm Champions Classic, they proved that not only they could hang, but they could win.
The game was tightly contested throughout, with neither team ever securing a double-digit lead. Senior forward Malik Hall had 20 points for the Spartans, but his biggest basket was a game-tying dunk with just three seconds remaining in regulation.
Senior forward Jacob Toppin had a chance to win it in regulation for the Wildcats, but his heave from the logo stayed out.
In the first overtime period, Hall came up clutch again as his dunk with just two seconds remaining tied the game. Kentucky had another game-winning attempt, but the heave by senior guard Sahvir Wheeler fell short.
The second overtime period was all Michigan State. Led by seven points from junior center Mady Sissoko, the Spartans pulled away and secured the upset with an 86-77 victory.
No. 6 Kansas defeats No. 7 Duke
In the second game of the State Farm Champions Classic, the reigning national champion Kansas Jayhawks took on the Duke Blue Devils.
The Jayhawks were on fire out of the gate, going on a 17-6 run in the first seven minutes. However, the Blue Devils fought back and cut the deficit to four going into the half.
The Blue Devils came out of the break strong and gained their first lead since being up 4-0 when Tyrese Protector hit a three to put them up two just four minutes into the second half.
Both sides exchanged buckets before freshman center Kyle Filipowski tipped in an offensive rebound to give Duke a five-point advantage with just 4:39 to play.
With their backs against the wall, the Jayhawks took flight. Freshmen guard Gradey Dick scored seven points while leading the Jayhawks on a 15-5 run to give them the 69-64 win.
No. 11 Texas tops No. 2 Gonzaga
A constant criticism of Gonzaga when it comes to ranking is that they don't play as competitive of a schedule as other teams in power five conferences because they play a majority of their games against opponents in the West Coast Conference.
To counteract that, Mark Few’s squad often schedules challenging non-conference matchups. This season the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs had to travel to the newly constructed Moody Center to face off against the No. 11 Texas Longhorns.
But unfortunately for the Bulldogs, on Wednesday, it was the Tyrese Hunter show. The sophomore guard dropped a career-high 26 points, making five of the Longhorns' 13 3-pointers.
Drew Timme shot 70% from the field and dropped 18 points, but that wasn’t nearly enough for the Bulldogs as they fell to the Longhorns 93-74.
Ben Palillo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.
