Champions Classic
 | |
| Sport | College Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | Varies |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| Sponsor(s) | State Farm |
| Official website | https://espnevents.com/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 2025.[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 two occasions, Michigan State in 2011 and 2021. Three of the four teams from the 2014 event 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 first, second, third, and fourth in both the AP and Coaches polls.[5] From 2017 to 2021, all four teams were coached by members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; Bill Self of Kansas was the last of the four coaches inducted in 2017, Mike Krzyzewski will retire at the end of the 2021–22 season.
As of the conclusion of the 2021 games, Duke has the best record in the champions classic at 7–4 followed by Kansas at 6–5, Kentucky at 5–6, and Michigan State at 4–7. Each team has at least one victory over each team in the classic, and Kansas is the only team that does not have a losing record to one of the other three teams.
Game results[]
Rankings are based on the Associated Press poll.
| Date | Location | Winning team | Losing team | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 15, 2011 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) |
No. 6 Duke | 74 | Michigan State | 69 | 19,979 |
| No. 2 Kentucky | 75 | No. 12 Kansas | 65 | |||
| November 13, 2012 | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
No. 21 Michigan State | 67 | No. 7 Kansas | 64 | 22,847 |
| No. 9 Duke | 75 | No. 3 Kentucky | 68 | |||
| November 12, 2013 | United Center (Chicago, IL) |
No. 2 Michigan State | 78 | No. 1 Kentucky | 74 | 22,711 |
| No. 5 Kansas | 94 | No. 4 Duke | 83 | |||
| November 18, 2014 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN) |
No. 4 Duke | 81 | No. 19 Michigan State | 71 | 19,306 |
| No. 1 Kentucky | 72 | No. 5 Kansas | 40 | |||
| November 17, 2015 | United Center (Chicago, IL) |
No. 2 Kentucky | 74 | No. 5 Duke | 63 | 21,461 |
| No. 13 Michigan State | 79 | No. 4 Kansas | 73 | |||
| November 15, 2016 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) |
No. 2 Kentucky | 69 | No. 13 Michigan State | 48 | 19,812[6] |
| No. 7 Kansas | 77 | No. 1 Duke | 75 | |||
| November 14, 2017 | United Center (Chicago, IL) |
No. 1 Duke | 88 | No. 2 Michigan State | 81 | 21,684 |
| No. 4 Kansas | 65 | No. 7 Kentucky | 61 | |||
| November 6, 2018 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN) |
No. 1 Kansas | 92 | No. 10 Michigan State | 87 | 19,584 |
| No. 4 Duke | 118 | No. 2 Kentucky | 84 | |||
| November 5, 2019 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) |
No. 4 Duke | 68 | No. 3 Kansas | 66 | 19,812 |
| No. 2 Kentucky | 69 | No. 1 Michigan State | 62 | |||
| December 1, 2020 | Cameron Indoor Stadiuma
(Durham, NC) |
No. 8 Michigan State | 75 | No. 6 Duke | 69 | 0b |
| Gainbridge Fieldhousea (Indianapolis, IN) |
No. 7 Kansas | 65 | No. 20 Kentucky | 62 | 0b | |
| November 9, 2021 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) |
No. 3 Kansas | 87 | Michigan State | 74 | 18,132 |
| No. 9 Duke | 79 | No. 10 Kentucky | 71 | |||
- a Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicting safety protocols between the various conferences, Michigan State played its Champions Classic game at Duke while Kentucky and Kansas played in Indianapolis.[7]
- b No attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Future match-ups[]
| Date | Location | Match-ups |
|---|---|---|
| November 8, 2022 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN) |
Duke vs Kansas Kentucky vs Michigan State |
| 2023 | TBD | Michigan State vs Duke Kansas vs. Kentucky |
| 2024 | Kansas vs. Michigan State Kentucky vs Duke | |
| 2025 | Michigan State vs Kentucky Kansas vs. Duke |
Head-to-head records[]
| Duke | Kansas | Kentucky | Michigan State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Duke | – | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| vs. Kansas | 1–2 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| vs. Kentucky | 3–1 | 2–2 | – | 1–2 |
| vs. Michigan State | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | – |
| Total | 7–4 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 4–7 |
References[]
- ^ Katz, Andy (December 8, 2010). "Marquee programs to meet early". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ "New Event Pits Four of Basketball's Winningest Programs". Duke Sports Information. December 8, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ^ "State Farm Champions Classic Renewed for Three More Years". ESPNPressRoom.com.
- ^ "This Champions Classic gives us the greatest opening night in the history of college basketball". CBSsports.com. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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
- ^ Crawford, Kirkland. "Michigan State basketball at Duke reportedly to play Dec. 1 in Champions Classic". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
- College men's basketball competitions in the United States
- College basketball competitions
- Recurring sporting events established in 2011