Two of college basketball's biggest "blue bloods" will square off Tuesday night in one of the sport's biggest early-season events: No. 6 Duke vs. No. 18 Kentucky.
The Blue Devils and Wildcats will close out the night at the 2024 Champions Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta at 9 p.m. ET, a matchup that was preceded by No. 1 Kansas taking on Michigan State.
Tuesday's matchup against the Wildcats' is the first big test of the season for Duke, who has opened up the season with wins over Maine and Army. It is also the first time that Blue Devils star freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel will play on the national stage. Flagg, the expected No. 1 overall pick in this year's NBA draft, is averaging 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals this season.
REQUIRED READING:What channel is the Champions Classic on today? Time, TV schedule to watch CBB event
The other main storyline in Tuesday's game surrounds the man walking the sidelines for Kentucky who isn't named John Calipari.
Mark Pope, a member of the Wildcats' 1996 national championship team, is in his first year coaching at his alma mater after Calipari left for Arkansas over the offseason.
The Blue Devils enter Tuesday having won five of their last seven games in the Champions Classic. Duke's 8-5 all-time record in the Champions Classic is tied with Kansas for the best record in the annual event among the Blue Devils, Jayhawks, Spartans and Wildcats.
With that, follow along here for live scores, updates, highlights and more from Duke vs. Kentucky basketball in the 2024 Champions Classic:
Watch Duke vs Kentucky in the Champions Classic with Fubo (free trial)This section will be updated after tip-off
| 1H | 2H | T | |
| DUKE | 46 | 26 | 72 |
| KENTUCKY | 37 | 35 | 72 |
(This section was updated with new information)
Flagg gets the layup to roll in to tie the game at 72-72.
Andrew Carr responds quickly to put Kentucky back up two at 72-70 with a layup and a free throw after drawing the foul on Duke's Khaman Maluach. 1:41 remaining in the second half as a play goes to review.
Big time play from Cooper Flagg as he draws the and-one after hitting a tough jumper inside the paint. Flagg knocks down the free throw to put Duke back up 71-70.
Wildcats take their first lead since the first half on a wide-open basket under the rim from Otega Oweh. Duke calls a timeout as it now trails Kentucky 69-67 with 2:09 remaining. Things getting interesting in the nightcap of the Champions Classic.
Andrew Carr hits the free throw coming out of the media timeout to tie the game at 67-67 with 3:57 remaining in the second half. Duke is 1 for its last 10 from the field.
es basket, draws the AND-one
Kentucky will have the chance to tie the game at 67-67 coming out of the under-four media timeout as Andrew Carr drew the foul as he moved through the paint. Layup goes in from Carr just before the timeout to make it 67-66 Duke. Big free throw coming up.
Wildcats have turned it up offensively and defensively in the second half, as Duke hasn't hit a field goal in nearly four minutes.
Kerr Kriisa makes it a 1-point game as he hits a tough, challenged 3-pointer bringing it to a 65-64 Duke lead. Wildcats on 11-4 run.
Koby Brea finds Brandon Garrison open for the layup to make it a two-point game. Timeout on the floor as Duke now leads 63-61 with 6:31 to go.
Kentucky has out-scored Duke 24-17 to open up the second half. Duke is struggling to build continuous momentum here in the second half, as it is 1 for its last 7 from the field.
Cooper Flagg continues to do it all for Duke as he gives the Blue Devils their first points in two-and-a-half minutes with a jumper. He is up to 19 points.
Duke calls a timeout on the floor after Brandon Garrison puts the missed shot back in for Kentucky to make it a four-point game at 61-57. Things are slowly heating up in Atlanta between these two college basketball blue-bloods.
Cooper Flagg continues his all-around game with a big 3-pointer for Duke. It is the first 3-pointer of the second half for the Blue Devils, who now lead 61-53. He is now at 17 points.
Kentucky continuing to put pressure on Duke coming out of halftime. Lamont Butler moves through the lane to get the layup to roll in while drawing the foul, making it a four-point game going into the under-12 media timeout. Duke is currently on a scoring drought of over two minutes.
Blue Devils lead 56-52 despite missing their last six shots from the field.
Duke guard Sion James is favoring his right arm and shoulder after going down following a collision with Kentucky's Amari Williams on a screen. James is the second Blue Devil to leave in the last few minutes, with Khaman Maluach being the other.
Nice spin move along the baseline leads to the easy bucket inside the paint for Cooper Flagg, who is now at 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. Duke holds a nine-point lead at 54-45.
The Blue Devils' defense continues to be all over the Wildcats' offense as Kentucky turns over the ball for the eighth time tonight. Kentucky's turnover sends the game into the under-16 media timeout with Duke holding a five-point lead at 50-45.
Kon Knueppel leads the game with 14 points and has made a nice few passes to start the second half. He remains on the court with two fouls.
Cooper Flagg finds Khaman Maluach for the poster dunk to give Duke its first points of the second half. Blue Devils up 48-42.
Otega Oweh hits a much-needed 3-pointer for Kentucky as he cashes in the 3-pointer on the second chance opportunity. Duke now leads 46-40.
Duke big man Khaman Maluach looked to have rolled his right knee after a collision with a Kentucky player inside the paint. He stays down for a second before getting back up.
Duke takes a 46-37 lead into the locker room at halftime thanks to a strong final nine minutes. Blue Devils controlled the pace for most of the half. Impressively, Duke only turned over the ball once in the first half and out-scored Kentucky 28-6 inside the paint.
Blue Devils star freshman duo Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg lead the game with 12 points each at halftime.
Some halftime stats:
Amari Williams can't get the jumper in the paint to roll in. Kentucky has not hit a field goal in the last 3:22. Duke leading 46-37 with 5.2 seconds remaining in the first half.
Duke jumps out to its biggest lead of the night at 10 points. Khaman Maluach makes back-to-back baskets: a dunk off the pass from Kon Knueppel and a putback off the offensive rebound.
Duke's finding its groove late in the first half as Tyrese Proctor knocks down an open 3-pointer to push the lead to 36-29. Mark Pope calls a timeout as Kentucky is 2 of its last 11 from the field.
Wildcats big man Otega Oweh ends a Duke 9-0 run with a put-back inside the paint. Kentucky out-rebounding Duke 17-15 early in this one.
Defense leading into offense for Duke as Kon Knueppel steals the ball at half court and hands it off to Cooper Flagg for the easy bucket. Flagg's basket extends Duke's run to 7-0 and forces Mark Pope to call a timeout with the Blue Devils now up 28-24.
Cooper Flagg hits both free throws to put him at 10 points in the first half. Blue Devils trail the Wildcats 24-23 with 8:47 remaining.
The Blue Devils will shoot free throws from here on out in the first half as Kentucky's Andrew Carr is called for his second foul. Kon Knueppel can't hit the free throw, keeping Duke's deficit at three against Kentucky at 24-21.
Physical play by Kentucky big man Amari Williams as he hits the jumper while drawing the foul. The Drexel transfer completes the 3-point play to push Kentucky's lead back up to three at 24-21.
Amari Williams responds quickly for Kentucky with a jumper going into the under-12 media timeout. Wildcats up early 21-19 in this Champions Classic showdown.
Sion James ties the game at 19-19 with a dunk in transition. Nice play by the Blue Devils that started with Caleb Foster grabbing the defensive rebound and finding James in transition.
Back-to-back 3s from Kerr Kriisa and Ansley Almonor push the Kentucky lead to 6-0 over the last 54 seconds. Wildcats are 5 of 5 from deep to open the game vs. Duke.
Duke star freshman guard Cooper Flagg takes advantage of the open space and hits the pull-up jumper to put the Blue Devils back up 13-12.
At the under-16 media timeout, Duke holds a slight lead over Kentucky at 11-9. Tyrese Proctor leads the Blue Devils with seven points on a perfect 3 of 3 shooting from the field.
The Blue Devils and Wildcats are tied 6-6 with 16:53 remaining in the first half as both teams trade early baskets and get their offenses going.
First sighting of the night of a member of Big Blue Nation dressing up like The Pope with a Mark Pope Kentucky uniform.
Duke enters Tuesday’s Champions Classic with a 8-5 overall record and a 3-1 series record vs Kentucky in the annual college basketball event. The Blue Devils' 8-5 overall record is tied with Kansas for the best record among the Blue Devils, Jayhawks, Spartans and Wildcats.
Kentucky enters Tuesday’s Champions Classic with a 5-8 overall record and a 1-3 series record vs Duke in the annual college basketball event. The Wildcats are on a two-game losing streak vs the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic.
Here’s a look at past results between Kentucky and Duke in the Champions Classic:
The Wildcats are on-site for Tuesday's Champions Classic matchup with No. 6 Duke. Kentucky, which will rock its home white uniform on Tuesday, is 1-3 against Duke in the Champions Classic.
The Blue Devils will rock with their alternate black uniforms vs. Kentucky in Tuesday's Champions Classic.
Through two games at Duke, Flagg is shooting 44% from the field (25.0% from 3) and averaging 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Here’s a game-by-game look at Flagg’s stats at Duke:
Through two games at Duke, Knueppel is shooting 56.5% from the field (50.0% from 3) and averaging 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Here’s a game-by-game look at Knueppel’s stats at Duke:
Former Kentucky center Mark Pope is in his first season leading the Wildcats program. The captain of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship title was hired as Kentucky’s coach in April following John Calipari’s departure for Arkansas. Pope previously coached at BYU, where he posted a 110-52 overall record in five seasons.
Prior to the 2024 Champions Classic, ESPN PR announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the annual four-team event between Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State has been extended through the 2028-29 college basketball season.
Next year’s Champions Classic will take place on Nov. 18, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Duke's game against Kentucky will air on ESPN, with Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Jay Bilas (analyst) on the call, while Jess Sims serves as the floor reporter. Streaming options include watch ESPN and Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Watch Duke vs Kentucky in the Champions Classic with Fubo (free trial)Duke vs. Kentucky in the Champions Classic is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 12 from State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville Observer: Duke 82, Kentucky 74
"The Wildcats have more experience, but the Blue Devils have more big-game experience with Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor. Kentucky's offense is a ton of fun that should be a joy to watch throughout the season. But behind another efficient scoring effort from Kon Knueppel, and the defensive prowess of Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, Duke will get more stops down the stretch to disappoint Big Blue Nation in SEC country."
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Monday, Nov. 11
Here's a look at the Blue Devils' November 2024-25 schedule, including available start times. For the full schedule, click here.
All times ET
Here's a look at the Wildcats' November 2024-25 schedule, including available start times. For the full schedule, click here.
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