11:39 PM EST: That will do it for VAVEL USA's coverage of college basketball. Once again, the Kentucky Wildcats run over the Kansas Jayhawks by a socre of 72-40. Stay with VAVEL USA for more coverage throughout the college basketball season.
11:38 PM EST: Kentucky is now 3-0 on the season, while Kansas drops to 1-1.
11:37 PM EST: Dakari Johnson for Kentucky led all scorers with 11 points, while Willie Cauley-Stein pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds.
11:35 PM EST: Kentucky held Kansas to a shooting percentage of 19.6 and their worst loss under head coach Bill Self.
2nd (00:00) That's the end of the game. Kentucky blows out the Kansas Jayhawks by a score of 72-40.
2nd (00:00) Kansas turns the ball over one last time and Kentucky dribbles out the clock.
2nd (00:26.5) One costless throw goes down.
2nd (00:26.5) Self commits a foul, Kentucky will get more costless throws.
2nd (00:44) Kentucky gets a long rebound and can almost run out the clock on thier 71-40 lead.
2nd (1:15) Bill Self's son Tyler has checked into the game for Kansas.
2nd (1:21) Willis goes to the line and makes two costless throws for UK, who is now up 71-40.
2nd (1:47) Derek Willis hits a three off the bench and extends the UK lead to 69-40.
2nd (2:03) Kentucky pulls in another rebound as they try to run out the last couple minutes.
2nd (2:28) Kentucky turns it over on their end, Jayhawks ball.
2nd (2:49) Two costless throws go down for the Jayhawks, they now trail 66-40.
2nd (3:01) This is the final media timeout of the game. Wildcats are destroying the Jayhawks 66-38.
2nd (3:01) Jayhawks turn it over again and Willie Cauley-Stein scores on the UK end. It's now 66-38 Kentucky.
2nd (3:59) Danny Manning's son Evan Manning makes a scrappy play as he checks into the game, giving KU the ball.
2nd (4:08) Frank Mason makes both costless throws. It's 64-38 Wildcats.
2nd (4:08) Another foul is called on the Wildcats so Kansas will shoot two.
2nd (4:13) Kentucky misses and Kansas gets a shot on offense, where they promptly miss but will keep the ball as it bounces off of a UK player.
2nd (4:55) Kentucky forces yet another bad turnover for Kansas.
2nd (5:18) Both costless throws are good. It's now a 64-36 UK lead.
2nd (5:18) Alex Poythress will go to the line on a foul.
2nd (5:35) Svi Mykhailiuk steps out of bounds, but the focus is on Aaron Harrison, who has left the game and is holding his wrist.
2nd (6:04) A foul is called on the Wildcats and Devonte' Graham goes to the line, where he misses a costless throw. Still 62-26 UK.
2nd (6:17) Towns misses a shot for Kentucky and the ball is tied up. Arrow goes to the Jayhawks.
2nd (6:43) Shot clock violation is called on KU.
2nd (6:58) Kicked ball is called, Kansas will keep it.
2nd (7:28) And Kentucky hits a long three. It's a blowout, 62-36 Wildcats.
2nd (7:58) Kentucky goes for the steal again, yet another mistake by the Jayhawks. Time is called on the floor, it's 59-36 Wildcats.
2nd (8:12) Lee misses both and KU gets the rebound.
2nd (8:12) Foul is called on the floor, Marcus Lee will shoot two.
2nd (8:40) Kansas is getting absolutely destroyed in the paint tonight. UK steals the ball yet again.
2nd (9:11) Both costless throws are good, it's now 59-36 Kentucky.
2nd (9:11) Kentucky steals the ball quickly out of the timeout and is fouled on their way to the basket.
2nd Half: Neither team has shot well from the chairty stripe so far, although Kansas is the worse of the two, only making 50% of their costless throws so far.
2nd (9:20) Karl-Anthony Towns scores again and Kansas is forced to call timeout. It's 57-36 Kentucky.
2nd (9:39) Kansas gets it back, runs the floor but misses another shot.
2nd (10:13) Alexander gets swallowed up byt the bigs for the Wildcats and they'll take it away.
2nd (10:26) Kentucky commits a mental mistake and quickly gives it back to Kansas.
2nd (10:28) Cliff ALexander goes to the line again, this time making 1 of 2 shot. It's 55-36 UK.
2nd (10:35) Towns extends the lead to 55-35 in favor of UK.
2nd (10:41) The ball bounces around between a couple players, eventually bouncing out of bounds off of KU.
2nd (11:09) Wayne Selden misses a shot, gets his own rebound, misses again and Kentucky comes away with it.
2nd Half: Perry Ellis has three fouls for KU, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Dakari Johnson each have three for UK.
2nd Half: Kentucky has made 7 of 13 shots so far in this half; Kansas has made 3 of 10.
2nd (11:40) We're at the under-12 media timeout and it is still all Wildcats, as they lead the Jayhawks 53-35.
2nd (12:00) Costless throw goes in, 53-35.
2nd (12:00) Andrew Harrison makes a great athleitc play in the lane to draw a foul and score on the shot. 52-35 Wildcats.
2nd (12:20) KU quickly scores again to make it 50-35. Pace is picking up in Indy.
2nd (12:40) Johnson scores again, 50-33 UK.
2nd (13:13) Kentucky quickly scores but Wayne Selden runs down court and retailiates with a J of his own. UK leads 48-33.
2nd (13:50) Now Cliff Alexander score for KU, it's 46-31.
2nd (14:16) Dakarai Johnson continues his strong second half with a nice move under the basket for another score.
2nd (14:39) Cliff Alexander makes the front end of a 1-and-1 but not the back end.
2nd (14:39) Kansas gets the ball right back and is fouled on their offensive end. Still 44-28, Wildcats lead.
2nd (14:58) Mykhailiuk misses again and UK is running.
2nd (15:18) alex Poythress fouls Wayne Selden and we're going the other way, KU ball.
2nd (15:33) Both costless throws are missed. Still 44-28.
2nd Half: The Jayhawks are yet to score in the half. All of the momentum from the end of the first half seems to have disappeared for Kansas.
2nd (15:33) Kansas transitions down the floor and draws a blocking foul. They'll go to the line after the under-16 media timeout. It's 44-28 Kentucky.
2nd (16:08) Svi Mykhailiuk misses a three and Traylor misses a putback dunk. Just one of those nights for Kansas. They trail by 16.
2nd (16:26) UK commits a foul, and as players walk to the bench they receive a small standing ovation from their fans.
2nd (16:48) A big slam adds on to the Kentucky lead. It's now 44-28.
2nd (17:09) Both costless throws are missed but UK rebounds offensively yet again.
2nd (17:11) KU misses two more shots and down on the other end Jamari Traylor commits a foul. UK to the line for two.
2nd (17:36) Alexander misses both costless throws but Kentucky knocks it out of bounds.
2nd (17:38) Selden makes a pretty pass to Alexander for KU and Alexander will go to the line after a foul.
2nd (17:48) Kentucky making powerful moves inside again, but commit a loose ball foul so the Jayhawks will get possession.
2nd (18:05) Wildcats miss a shot but KU drops the ball out of bounds again so Kentucky keeps it.
2nd (18:30) Kansas misses yet another shot. Kentucky rebounds.
2nd (18:56) After a bad KU miss, UK scores at the other end and now leads 42-28.
2nd (19:31) Dakari Johnson scores for UK to open the second half. It's 40-28 Wildcats.
2nd (20:00) UK starts with the ball.
1st Half: One last note on UK from the first half: Every player who saw time on the floor scored during the half, all 10.
1st Half: On the Kansas side of things, offensive efficiency will be the key. As an undersized team, they will need to be able to make more shots from the floor, so they will have to shoot at a much higher clip than the 24.2% they shot at in the first half.
1st Half: In the second half, Kentucky will likley stay with their first platoon of players, as they were most effective with that crew on the floor. If they can continue to show defensive intensity at a level like they played at in the first half, they will continue to give the Jayhawks fits offensively.
1st Half: A decent number of turnovers and a combined 45 missed shots between the two squads made it a sloppy first half for both UK and KU.
1st Half: The leading scorer for Kansas in the first half was freshman Kelly Oubre, with 6 points. He also grabbed 4 rebounds. Kentucky's leading scorer was Andrew Harrison, who went 2 of 2 from three-point land.
1st Half: Kentucky nailed 13 of their 33 shots, good for 39.4%. A one-time huge rebounding advantage for the Wildcats turned into a slim two board advantage for Big Blue by the end of the half. They also blocked eight Kansas shots.
1st Half: For the half, Kansas shot 8-33 (24.2%) including 3-8 (37.5%0 from three-point range. The Jayhawks committed five turnovers, with just four assists.
1st Half: Kentucky made less than 40% of their shots, but they picked up 10 offensive boards and capitalized for double-digit second chance points.
1st Half: After a brutal start to the half, shooting just 4-26, the Jayhawks made 4 of their last 7 shots.
1st (00:00) Kansas can't score on one last heave, and that will end the first half. It's 38-28, Wildcats lead the Jayhawks.
1st (00:04.3) One goes in, 38-28 Kentucky.
1st (00:04.3) Kentucky runs most of the clock down before forcing a defensive foul on a play underneath. Wildcats will shoot two.
1st (00:24.1) Brannen Greene makes a jumper and then off of a UK miss, Kansas quickly scores again. Jayhawks bulding a little momentum right before halftime. It's 37-28 UK leads.
1st (1:24) Dakari Johnson scores for Kentucky but Kelly Oubre quickly scores on the other end for Kansas. 37-24 Wildcats.
1st (2:04) One costless throw goes in for KU, it's now 35-21 UK leads.
1st Half: That last block from Poythress was the eighth for Kentucky. They are dominating on defense.
1st (2:04) Frank Mason leads the break off of a Kentucky miss, but Alex Poythress makes a huge block on the other end. UK does eventually foul, so KU will go to the line. It's 35-20, Wildcats lead.
1st (2:43) Wayne Selden hits a three for the Jayhawks, they still trail 35-20.
1st Half: Kansas is now 4-24 shooting in the half. Kentucky is 12-29.
1st (3:03) Aaron Harrison hits a three pointer and it is all Kentucky as time is called on the floor. 35-17 Wildcats.
1st (3:41) Beautiful ball movement leads to an easy bucket for Karl-Anthony Towns, which makes the score 32-17.
1st (4:07) Cliff Alexander goes to the line and makes both costless throws. Kansas trails 30-17.
1st (4:07) Kansas misses three shots in a row, including one from point-blank range, but a foul on Kentucky is called.
1st (4:58) Wayne Selden makes a bad pass, yet another Kansas turnover. 30-15 Kentucky.
1st (5:15) Traylor makes another gritty play which leads to UK knocking the ball out of bounds, Jayhawks get the ball.
1st Half: Neither team has played a clean game, but Kentucky has dominated on the offensive glass.
1st (5:24) Jamari Traylor makes a good scrappy play on the floor for KU, but Towns makes a veteran play and calls a quick timeout from the floor. 30-15 UK leads KU.
1st (5:35) Kansas botches a rebound and makes a bad mistake to give Kentucky the ball back after a missed three.
1st (6:11) Dakari Johnson scores quickly on the other end, making the UK lead 30-15.
1st (6:33) Svi Mykhailiuk hits a long three, finally giving Kansas something positive.
1st (6:54) Lyles goes 2-2. 28-12, Wildcats beating down on the Jayhawks.
1st (6:54) Kansas fouls Kentucky under their basket, Trey Lyles to shoot two.
1st (7:12) Brannen Greene commits a moving screen, Wildcats get the ball on another Jayhawks miscue.
1st (7:34) UK misses a three and KU gets the ball back.
1st (7:51) Jamari Traylor makes bith costless throws. 26-12 Kentucky.
1st Half: UK is playing like a well-oiled machine and then some right now.
1st Half: Kansas has still only made 3 shots from the floor out of 18 attempts. Absolutely brutal.
1st (7:51) Willie Cauley-Stein commits a very iffy foul. Nonetheless, Kansas will shoot two after the under-8 media timeout.
1st (7:57) Frank Mason takes a wild shot, but gets it back after an equally bad shot by Kentucky.
1st (9:01) Poythress nails both. 26-10 Wildcats.
1st (9:01) Poythress is now fouled during a shot on the other end. He'll shoot two. Brannen Greene checks in for KU.
1st (9:15) Alex Poythress fouls Svi Mykhailiuk, who makes one costless throw. 24-10 Kentucky leads.
1st Half: Kansas has already had to call two timeouts. Terrible start for the Crimson and Blue.
1st (9:24) Andrew Harrison hits a wide-open three, completely unguarded. Kentucky is cruising right now, 24-9 over the Jayhawks.
1st (9:38) Wayne Selden throws it away, another bad turnover for KU.
1st (9:43) Dead ball called on the floor, Kansas will keep it.
1st (10:01) Willie Cauley-Stein misses the costless throw but follows the miss with a huge dunk. 21-9 UK.
1st Half: Kentucky is having their way with Kansas early. Both teams playing sloppy, but KU has been far worse thus far. 19-9 Wildcats lead.
1st (10:02) The Jayhawks turn it over again and they foul UK twice on the other end, the second one resulting in an And-One. 19-9 UK.
1st (10:42) UK scores off of the inbounds. They lead 17-9.
1st (10:53) Kentucky misses two easy shots down low, including a dunk, but a kicked ball is called on KU.
1st (11:19) Landen Lucas misses both costless throws. Kentucky still leads 14-9.
1st Half: Early on, this has been one of the sloppiest games, by far, of the Tip-Off Marathon.
1st Half: Kansas is just 3-16 from the field so far in this game, and Kentucky has already blocked 5 shots.
1st (11:19) It's time for the under-12 media timeout after KU gets fouled. Kentucky leads Kansas 14-9.
1st (11:35) Kentucky barely avoids a shot clock violation and scores quickly off of a rebound. 14-9 Kentucky.
1st (12:21) Graham drives and gets blocked, Kentucky turns it over and eventually Kansas cherry-picks down floor and score. 12-9 Wildcats.
1st (12:39) Devonte' Graham for Kansas makes a bad pass but it takes a lucky bounce off of a UK player out of bounds. Kansas keeps it, still down 12-7.
1st (13:05) Perry Ellis misses for KU. The Jayhawks can't buy a bucket right now.
1st (13:45) Kansas turns it over down low, Kentucky runs the floor and scores. 12-7 now UK.
1st (14:02) UK goes over the back on Kansas, Jayhawks get the ball. Still 10-7 Wildcats.
1st (14:21) Alexander now immediately commits an offensive foul. Awful start for the freshman. Landen Lucas checks in.
1st (14:42) Cliff Alexander checks in, commits an immediate foul and on the ensuing play, Kentucky scores. Bad mental mistake. 10-7 UK.
1st (14:55) Frank Mason makes 1 costless throw, KU trails 8-7.
1st Half: Second platoon is entering for UK.
1st Half: One thing is for certain: both of these teams can run the floor and play with a great deal of energy. Finishing plays has been suspect at best for both, however.
1st (14:55) First media timeout. Sloppy but fast-paced start to the game. Kentucky leads Kansas early, 8-6.
1st (15:06) Kentucky has an airball and a ball stolen, with a block on Kansas in between. KU will get the ball after the turnover.
1st (16:19) Wayne Selden makes a jumper for Kansas but Aaron Harrison runs the floor and hits a 3, so Kentucky still leads, 8-6.
1st (16:50) Kentucky blocks another shot but Kansas ties them up on the floor and gets the arrow.
1st (17:09) Towns makes 1 of 2, the Wildcats lead by 1.
1st (17:09) Jamari Traylor fouls Karl-Anthony Towns down low, KU's third foul. Towns goes to the line for two shots.
1st (17:41) Mason sinks both, we're tied at 4.
1st (17:41) Frank Mason is fouled going to the hole, he'll shoot two.
1st (17:58) Oube fouls Cauley-Stein, who makes 1 costless throw before the put back is tapped in by Towns. 4-2 Wildcats.
1st (18:13) Perry Ellis with the flush and two for Kansas, they lead 2-1.
1st (18:30) Andrew Harrison makes 1, it's 1-0 UK.
1st (18:30) Oubre commits a foul, Kentucky will shoot two. Fast-paced but sloppy start.
1st (18:51) Huge block from Willie Cauley-Stein and UK gets it back.
Kansas misses twice on their first possession, one by Frank Mason and one by Traylor. UK ball.
Kentucky bats the tip-off out of bounds, Kansas will start with posession.
Kentucky will be running a platoon system for their substitutes tonight, a very interesting approach for the Wildcats.
Kentucky Starters: Aaron & Andrew Harrison, Poythress, Towns, Cauley-Stein.
Kansas Starters: Mason, Selden, Oubre, Traylor, Ellis.
Big shakeup already for the Jayhawks, as Kelly Oubre, the much-hyped freshman who played less than 5 minutes against UCSB, will be starting tonight.
Tip-off for this game Kansas Jayhawks - Kentucky Wildcats Live will take place at 9:30 PM EST from Indianapolis.
This game Kansas Jayhawks - Kentucky Wildcats is a part of the Champions Classic, a series featuring four of the top programs in college basketball (the other two teams are Duke and Michigan State). Last year, the Jayhawks won their Champions Classic game against Duke, in a highly-anticipated matchup between last year's two top recruits, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. Kentucky came up short in a great game agaisnt the Michigan State Spartans. Ironically, Kentucky was also ranked #1 entering the Champions Classic last season and Kansas was also ranked #5.
Kentucky leads the all-time series between these two teams with a record of 21-6. The Wildcats' last win came in the last game these two played against each other, winning the national title in the process. Kansas last won in 2007, when they defeated UK in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas is an undersized team compared to most of the elite teams in the nation, but they still have an incredible amount of talent. Wayne Selden, Jr. is a player that will need to step up for KU in this matchup. He has world's of talent but has been known to go through slumps, including in their game against UC Santa Barbara in which he was highly inefficient offensively. He's got the skill but it must be put into action, especially against a team like Kentucky. Post play will likely be the deciding factor in this game Kansas Jayhawks - Kentucky Wildcats, and with an undersized lineup Kansas will need to play with physicality and tenacity as they go up against a phenomenal Kentucky front court. Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor and Cliff Alexander will all have to play to the best of their collective ability (which is at an incredibly high level) if they want to win in the post (or at least match the UK big men).
The thing that makes Kentucky such a strong team is the fact that they have so many options on the floor at any given time. The Harrisons progressed steadily over the length of the season last year, especially in the NCAA Tournamnet, and they are able to score from a wide variety of spots on the floor. Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns will be an absolute force in the paint, with athleticism and pure talent that very few other teams can rival. Kansas must also pay a great deal of attention to Alex Poythress, one of the most underrated players in the nation. With all of the talent on this Wildcats roster, it's nearly impossible to play great defense on everyone on every trip up the court, and often Poythress can be the beneficiary of attention being directed elsewhere. For lack of a better term, this Kentucky team is stacked.
Freshman are going to play a huge role in this matchup. For the Wildcats, Karl-Anthony Towns is going to be a difference maker for the entire season. His size and athleticism will be a nightmare for even the strongest of defensive teams across the college basketball landscape. In Kansas' case, they will need to rely on freshmen to have a good, or at least solid, game against UK. Devonte' Graham will need to have another good game running the point for KU, and Mykhailiuk must be more efficient offensively. Down low, Cliff Alexander will need to play physically, as well as intelligently, against the trees that Kentucky has playing in the post.
More questions surround the Jayhawks than the Wildcats to start off the season, at least on the surface. Primarily, how will Bill Self's squad replace the incredible talent and athleticism of the NBA's #1 overall pick, Andrew Wiggins, and the fantastic rebounding and shot-blocking ability of the #3 pick, Joel Embiid. Also, there a questions about who will step up to replace Conner Frankamp, the would-be sophomore guard who was projected to be KU's sharpshooter off of the bench. His decision to transfer just prior to the start of the season resulted in confusion around Lawrence, but the team has enough talent to make up for the loss of Frankamp.
There is a reason why the Kentucky Wildcats are seen by many as the undisputed #1 team as the season starts, and that has to do with their deep and talented roster. UK is returning 7 players that saw game time last season, including interior force Willie Cauley-Stein and the Harrison twins, Andrew and Aaron, the latter of which was the hero of the 2013 Final Four game against the Wisconsin Badgers for a clutch three-pointer he nailed with time winding down at the end of the game Kansas Jayhawks - Kentucky Wildcats. These players were a part of a team that went to the National Championship game last season, and with another year of experience under their belts, they are the favorites to return this year.
This past Friday night, the Kansas Jayhawks held off the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos by a score of 69-59. It was by no means a clean game by either side (Kansas committed 16 turnovers; UCSB committed 15) but there were positives shown by the #5 ranked team in the AP Poll. Specifically, freshman Devonte' Graham led the team in scoring despite starting off on the bench, and while not very efficient from the floor, Ukranian sensation Svi Mykhailiuk showed flashes of brilliance and also led the team in scoring.
Kentucky is coming off of a 19-point victory over Buffalo, however the game was much closer than that for a good portion of the game, specifically in the first half when the Bulls actually had a lead over the top-ranked team in the nation. THe Wildcats would end up pulling away, but it was not a smooth start for arguably the most talented team in the nation.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's coverage of college basketball. We have a huge matchup tonight, live from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, as the #5 ranked Kansas Jayhawks take on the #1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. This will be the first meeting between the two winningest programs in college basketball history since the 2012 NCAA Tournament Championship Game. This is a game live Kansas Jayhawks - Kentucky Wildcats between two of the sports' bluebloods, two teams with a ton of talent, who should be able to put on a great show despite some opening night struggles for each team.