Champions Classic

The Champions Classic is an event that tips off the NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It features four of the top college basketball programs in the United States: Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State.[1] The venue changes from year to year, with Madison Square Garden being the first venue. The first Classic was held on November 15, 2011. This would be the beginning of a three-year rotation, originally scheduled to end in 2013, where each of the teams would play each other once. The event is televised on ESPN.[2] The series is currently set to run through 2022.[3]

The series was started as an early-season match-up of the nation's best and most consistent basketball programs[4] as evidenced by the fact that all four teams have been ranked for every competition except on one occasion. Three of the four teams from the 2014 Champions Classic advanced to the 2015 Final Four (Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan State) with Duke winning the National Championship that year. The 2019 games featured the schools ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in both the AP and Coaches polls.[5]

Game results

Rankings are based on the Associated Press poll.

DateLocationWinning teamLosing teamAttendance
November 15, 2011 Madison Square Garden
(New York, NY)		 No. 6 Duke74 Michigan State6919,979
No. 2 Kentucky75 No. 12 Kansas65
November 13, 2012 Georgia Dome
(Atlanta, GA)		 No. 21 Michigan State67 No. 7 Kansas6422,847
No. 9 Duke75 No. 3 Kentucky68
November 12, 2013 United Center
(Chicago, IL)		 No. 2 Michigan State78 No. 1 Kentucky7422,711
No. 5 Kansas94 No. 4 Duke83
November 18, 2014 Bankers Life Fieldhouse
(Indianapolis, IN)		 No. 4 Duke81 No. 19 Michigan State7119,306
No. 1 Kentucky72 No. 5 Kansas40
November 17, 2015 United Center
(Chicago, IL)		 No. 2 Kentucky74 No. 5 Duke6321,461
No. 13 Michigan State79 No. 4 Kansas73
November 15, 2016 Madison Square Garden
(New York, NY)		 No. 2 Kentucky69 No. 13 Michigan State4819,812[6]
No. 7 Kansas77 No. 1 Duke75
November 14, 2017 United Center
(Chicago, IL)		 No. 1 Duke88 No. 2 Michigan State8121,684
No. 4 Kansas65 No. 7 Kentucky61
November 6, 2018 Bankers Life Fieldhouse
(Indianapolis, IN)		 No. 1 Kansas92 No. 10 Michigan State8719,584
No. 4 Duke118 No. 2 Kentucky84
November 5, 2019 Madison Square Garden
(New York, NY)		 No. 4 Duke68 No. 3 Kansas6619,812
No. 2 Kentucky69 No. 1 Michigan State62
December 1, 2020 Cameron Indoor Stadium

(Durham, NC)

 No. 8 Michigan Sate75 No. 6 Duke690
Bankers Life Fieldhouse
(Indianapolis, IN)		 No. 7 Kansas65 No. 20 Kentucky620

Future match-ups
DateLocationMatch-ups
2021Madison Square Garden
(New York, NY)		Kansas vs Michigan State
Duke vs Kentucky
2022Bankers Life Fieldhouse
(Indianapolis, IN)		Duke vs Kansas
Kentucky vs Michigan State

Head-to-head records
  Duke Kansas Kentucky Michigan State
vs. Duke –2–11–21–3
vs. Kansas 1–2–2–22–1
vs. Kentucky 2-12-2–1–2
vs. Michigan State 3–11-22–1–
Total 6–45–55–54–6

References
  1. Katz, Andy (December 8, 2010). "Marquee programs to meet early". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  2. "New Event Pits Four of Basketball's Winningest Programs". Duke Sports Information. December 8, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  3. "Michigan State basketball committed to Champions Classic through 2022". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  4. "This Champions Classic gives us the greatest opening night in the history of college basketball". CBSsports.com. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  5. "Reactions to the College Basketball Preseason AP Top 25 Poll: Is This the Best Champions Classic Ever?". Stadium. 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  6. Champions Classic [@championclassic] (17 November 2016). "19,812 came out to see a great start to the college basketball season at @TheGarden. #ChampionsClassic" (Tweet) – via Twitter. /photo/1

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