Written by Nicole Auerbach at USAToday.com
Breaking down No. 8 Kansas’ 77-75 win against No. 1 Duke on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden:
THE BIG PICTURE: Well, this won’t be what Duke looks like in March. Or even in January. The Blue Devils were without three of their star freshmen — Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden — who wore matching suits and sat at the end of the bench. None of the three have played yet: Giles had knee surgery before the season, Tatum sprained his foot during a preseason practice; and Bolden sustained a left lower leg injury in a later practice. These three are critical pieces for a team that should and will be a national title contender.
So for Duke, without three potential first-round picks battling its short rotation and foul trouble, losing to a very good Kansas team that needed to bounce back strong after a season-opening loss to Indiana is not bad. It’s only November, and the only thing Duke lost, really, was the No. 1 ranking.
HOW KANSAS WON: Halfway through the second half, Duke found itself in serious foul trouble. With Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones sitting with four fouls apiece and Luke Kennard with three, Kansas went on a 19-6 run to grab a comfortable lead — which it clung to, and ultimately held onto just barely. Kansas guard Frank Mason III delivered a strong second-half performance, including the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left. The Jayhawks won even though they shot were 2-for-16 from three-point range and less than 50% from the free throw line. Duke rallied from double digits down to tie the game on a three-pointer with 15 seconds to play.
FRESHMAN TRACKER: Kansas freshman Josh Jackson, unlike most of his Duke counterparts, was healthy — and he made his presence felt before fouling out with five minutes left. Jackson had struggled and appeared uncomfortable against Indiana on Friday, going 3-for-11 from the field and scoring just nine points. But against the top-ranked Blue Devils and in the bright spotlight of the Champions Classic, he came alive. Jackson scored 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He also added two rebounds and a steal.
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