In each of the previous 14 seasons, four of college basketball’s best programs have met in a high-profile doubleheader called the Champions Classic. On Tuesday night, they’ll do it again, for a 15th time, this time inside New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Here are the matchups:
* 6:30 p.m. ET: Kentucky vs. Michigan State
* 9:00 p.m. ET: Duke vs. Kansas
All four teams are in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the 10th consecutive day. Duke is No. 8. Kentucky is No. 17. Michigan State is No. 18. Kansas is No. 22.
It should be a great night at MSG.
Unfortunately, though, it won’t be as great as it could’ve been because five-star freshman Darryn Peterson, a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, will not play thanks to a hamstring injury that’s kept him out of Kansas’ past two games. In KU’s first two contests, the 6-foot-6 guard averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 25.0 minutes on the court.
“We’re not obviously gonna have him, you know, at least for the immediate future,” KU coach Bill Self said this weekend. “I just don’t know how long that’ll be.”
That’s a bummer, for sure. But at least one of the other elite freshmen will be on display. His name is Cameron Boozer, and he’s averaging 22.5 points,10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1,8 blocks and 1.8 steals in 28.8 minutes per game for the undefeated Blue Devils. In high school, Boozer was a two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year. The only other men to win that award twice are LeBron James, Greg Oden and Brandon Knight.
