No. 1 Kansas wins ugly thanks to an inspiring performance from Hunter Dickinson, its most valuable player

The Champions Classic has come to symbolize the earnest/unofficial start of college basketball’s season. In many years, we get great matchups that lead to great games in front of great crowds.

Unfortunately, Michigan State and No. 1 Kansas didn’t provide that. 

Thanks to Duke and Kentucky being the nightcap — and with those two fan bases being closest to Atlanta, where the Champions Classic was played this year — State Farm Arena was afflicted with a bad visual in the first half: swaths of empty seats. And some rough basketball, too. 

The teams combined to shoot worse than 35% in the first half, including a horrendous aggregate of 3-of-21 from 3. The second 20 minutes saw more improvement on both ends, though, with the Jayhawks maneuvering past the Spartans 77-69 to remain unbeaten. Kansas was four nights removed from a thrilling chase at home against North Carolina, and that was a hard-earned victory just like this one. Neither display was KU at its aesthetic peak, but whatever. Get the wins however you can. KU is 3-0, will hold its No. 1 ranking and owns a pair of conquests against UNC and MSU. Those teams could be well-seeded come March. For Kansas, some good work less than 10 days into the season. 

So, beyond the outcome, what do we take from KU’s win? It was historic, for one. Congrats to Bill Self on his landmark victory, the 591st he’s earned as coach of the Jayhawks. As of Tuesday night, Self has claim to more wins than any coach in KU history. To own that distinction at that school puts him on the short list of greatest coaches in college basketball. Ever. 

As nice as the Self stat is, let’s get to the cocksure big guy. Because the story from Tuesday night’s lidlifter is Hunter Dickinson’s performance. The preseason All-American had 28 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, one turnover and one foul in 35 minutes. He was the best player on the floor, a promising performance for a Kansas team looking to have a variety of MVP candidates on a night-in, night-out basis. On this night, most of Dickinson’s teammates were spotty. KU was bad from the field: 5-of-17 from beyond the arc and 28 for 69 overall (40.6%). 

Dickinson saved the night. That’s the kind of performance (also the 50th double-double of Dickinson’s career) that can have significant long-term mileage. Dickinson’s offensive ability is well established (this is his fifth year of college, after all), but on a team that’s loaded up in the portal, plus has key returnees KJ Adams Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr., it was fair to wonder if Dickinson’s role would diminish. 

That hasn’t been the case so far and Kansas is better off because of it. Through three games Dickinson is averaging 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and is shooting 56.8% as a roam-the-court stretch big. Against MSU, he scored two fewer points than Sparty’s starters (30). 

Dickinson doing this was impressive but also not surprising. Consider the opponent, remember Dickinson’s prior stop. He did this against Michigan State — a hated rival from his Michigan days. He proudly holds a grudge against MSU and exacted one last blow against the Spartans. 

At one point, Dickinson could be seen giving the “too small” (this taunt has reached its saturation point, for the record) reaction to Michigan State.

“I was saying they’re too small,” Dickinson said afterward. “They can’t guard me.”

He’s right. Hate him for doing it/saying it, but he’s right. With Self dialing up different schemes, Dickinson could be in for a monster year of usage. For as much of a sieve as Dickinson can be on defense, to have him as a viable big who’s a threat on most nights to go for 20-plus points and double-digit boards is likely going to be the central driving force to Kansas’ Final Four and Big 12 title hopes this season. 

Beating Michigan State by eight points in a sloppy game doesn’t mean a lot in the big picture. But it’s in these games, on big stages, where you want to learn if your best can show up when a lot is failing around them. Dickinson did, so in that regard, he had one of his most valuable games of his career. 

Remember, Kansas was the preseason No. 1 a year ago, but lacked depth and endured a string of bad injury luck. That affected Dickinson’s impact. So long as this team is able to stay healthy and continue to jell, Dickinson’s likely to be among the most impactful big men in the country. He’s an easy target for age jokes (Perry Ellis can’t believe how long this guy’s been in college!) and has leaned into being a heel, but he’s a hell of a player to have and a lot of teams are going to fail to stop him on his final tour through college basketball.