Duke vs. Kansas score, takeaways: Jalen Wilson leads Jayhawks' late rally vs. Blue Devils in Champions Classic

The No. 6 Jayhawks made enough plays down the stretch to defeat the No. 7 Blue Devils in the Champions Classic

The first game of the 2022-23 college basketball season played between top-10 teams delivered in a captivating way Tuesday night as No. 6 Kansas outlasted No. 7 Duke 69-64 during the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. The Jayhawks were without coach Bill Self, who was serving the third game of a self-imposed four-game suspension in response to alleged NCAA violations.

But even without Self and some key players from last season's national title team, the Jayhawks looked like a national contender once again. Kansas freshman Gradey Dick came alive in crunch time for three clutch buckets in the final two and a half minutes, two of which gave the Jayhawks the lead. 

His diving, twisting lay-up with 1:04 remaining made it a 65-62 lead for the Jayhawks, who rallied from a six-point deficit late in the second half. Dick had been scoreless for the half until his late finishing flurry but finished with 14 points for the game.

For most of the second half, the Jayhawks essentially force-fed junior wing Jalen Wilson, who is the leading returning scorer after the losses of stars such as Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun to the NBA Draft. Wilson finished with a game-high 25 points and helped the Jayhawks weather a storm in the second half.

Duke trailed by 11 points early but settled in as the game progressed with freshman forward Kyle Filipowski standing out for his aggression in the second half. Filipowski led the Blue Devils with 17 points and 14 rebounds but was just 6 of 18 from the floor. Jeremy Roach added 16 points for Duke.  

Both teams plagued by poor shooting

Duke had hit a respectable 34% of its 3-point attempts through two games entering Tuesday, but the Blue Devils went cold from beyond the arc against Kansas. Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor were each 1 for 5 from deep, and Filipowski was 1 of 6 while Jaylen Blakes and Jacob Grandison combined to go 0 of 5.

Kansas wasn't much better as the Jayhawks hit only 3 of 19 attempts from 3-point range, but KU did have more success attacking the rim. Overall, Kansas shot 46.3% from the floor compared to 35.8% for Duke. Undersized big man KJ Adams Jr. quietly made 4 of 4 attempts from the field without being a focal point of KU's offense. His task against Duke's much taller bigs was unenviable, but he handled it well enough to allow the Jayhawks to capitalize in other ways.

Kansas shows off its wings

How KU capitalized was through the aggression of its versatile corps of wings. Wilson made into the lane against anyone who guarded him and Dick managed to get loose in key moments. Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar also provided a big lift in the first half, particularly early when he often found himself guarded by Filipowski, a 7-footer. McCullar scored eight of his 12 points in the opening half. He had six early as the Jayhawks opened up a 17-6 lead less than seven minutes in.

The size and versatility of the Wilson-Dick-McCullar trio stood out for Kansas. Though just three games into his career, Dick looks capable of playing a similar type of role to the role Christian Braun played for the Jayhawks on their way to a national title last season. Though replacing Ochai Agbaji is going to be a bit more difficult, it's clear KU has the perimeter weapons necessary to be a matchup nightmare once again.

Key players missing in action

Neither team had its full roster available. One of Duke's five-star freshmen, versatile wing Dariq Whitehead, has yet to make his debut while recovering from offseason foot surgery. The 6-6 wing would have given Duke another versatile defender to deploy against Wilson and Dick.

Kansas was without two players as well, though. Freshman guard MJ Rice (illness) and sophomore Zach Clemence (injury) were unavailable. Rice is a McDonald's All-American who played a major role off the bench last week, and Clemence is a sophomore fighting for minutes in the front court.

[Nov 16, 2022 at 12:13 am ET · David Cobb]

Down to the wire

Under 3 to go and we're coming down to the wire. Our second dramatic finish of the night on deck in the Champions Classic. Who will Duke go to in crunch time? Fun to see. Scheyer takes a timeout with 2:37 left and his team up 1. Kansas is just force feeding Jalen Wilson.

[Nov 16, 2022 at 12:07 am ET · David Cobb]

Kyle Filipowski

He just became the first Duke player to start his career with three double-doubles. Has been on a mission in the second half, putting his physicality on display against Kansas' similarly inexperienced front court. He's got 15 and 12 with 5 minutes still to play.

[Nov 16, 2022 at 12:05 am ET · David Cobb]

In a drought

Since a hot run to begin the second half, both teams have gone cold. We're under 7 minutes now and it seems like fatigue could be a factor. After two relatively non-competitive openers for both teams, we're about to see who has the legs to finish against a quality opponent. 

[Nov 15, 2022 at 11:58 pm ET · David Cobb]

Tight game

Four players with three fouls now for Kansas, but thankfully Jalen Wilson is not among them. He's been the alpha for the Jayhawks tonight and has sustained KU in the second half of McCullar and Dick have largely been silent. No real offensive post presence for these Jayhawks, at least not against this towering Duke front line tonight.

[Nov 15, 2022 at 11:50 pm ET · David Cobb]

Duke's aggression

The Blue Devils have been far more intense attacking the basket in the second half. Duke is outscoring KU 22-14 in the half with Filipowski and Mitchell really coming alive. Kansas' lineup of smaller bigs is getting. Jayhawks might wanna go back to Kevin McCullar who was good in the first half but has been MIA in the second.

[Nov 15, 2022 at 11:42 pm ET · David Cobb]

Kyle Filipowski

Duke's freshman just flushed one on KJ Adams and on Ernest Udeh Jr. who came over to help. Big-time take from Filipowski. He's been good tonight. Though just 3 of 9 from the floor, he's been the most aggressive Duke player outside of Jeremy Roach has hit 4 of 4 free throws.

[Nov 15, 2022 at 11:39 pm ET · David Cobb]

Heating up

Good offensive start to the second half as the teams look much more settled than they did early. Proctor is going off with seven points and Jalen Wilson has continued to be assertive offensively for KU. Blue Devils up two now as they take a lead for the first time since the first couple minutes.

[Nov 15, 2022 at 11:34 pm ET · David Cobb]

Proctor midrange

A couple of silky midrange jumpers for Tyrese Proctor in the opening 2+ minutes of the half for Duke. The freshman reclassifier was quiet in the first but hunting looks here to begin the season.