By far, Duke looked the most impressive. As I've become a known "Duke is overrated every year" believer, I'll eat my own words here. Grayson Allen, much to my chagrin, had the most impressive performance in his 4 years at Duke with 37 points. Like I honestly can't describe how awesome he played. Another thing to note too–he never came out of the game either. Just fantastic. Marvin Bagley III didn't even play for the majority of the game because of his eye, and Duke could've rolled over and given Michigan State that game, but they didn't. Tonight they proved why they're currently the best team in the nation. Also, Trevon Duval was impressive again with 17 points and 10 assists. That Duval-Allen duo is going to be lethal.
Michigan State, though they lost, certainly looked good. They had three players (Miles Bridges, Nick Ward and Jaren Jackson Jr.) with 19 points each. I honestly think they just ran into a buzzsaw of a Duke team tonight, and they would've beaten Kansas or Kentucky had they played them. This team looks really well-balanced. Bridges, Jackson Jr and Ward will handle the scoring, and Cassius Winston is the perfect pass-first point guard for Tom Izzo's offense. I think their biggest weakness is guard depth, but Tum Tum Nairn Jr and Matt McQuaid are certainly serviceable. Nonetheless, this is still a brilliant starting point for a program that usually improves drastically by the Tournament.
Kansas didn't look that great in their win tonight. They only shot 35.3% from the field and a ghastly 56.3% from the free throw line. They also may have set the record for the most fastbreak layups missed in a half. Regardless, I think Kansas fans can find comfort in that they still beat Kentucky even though they didn't play their best. I mean Devonte' Graham isn't going to struggle as much as he did tonight, as with Malik Newman and Lagerald Vick. They also only played with 7 guys tonight, a problem that will be resolved once they get Billy Preston Jr back. Kansas should be encouraged by SVIATOSLAV and Udoka Azubuike. Especially Azubuike, who had 13 points and 8 rebounds with his only misses coming from the free throw line. I wasn't impressed but wasn't disappointed either. I'll give Kansas a C for now.
Kentucky actually played better than how I thought they would. (I did have them as a 20-point underdog though.) Their offense is very sloppy and choppy: two qualities you don't want to have. I feel like nobody on that team knows who should take what shots and when. Kevin Knox was the clear MVP of the Wildcats today, but he didn't get the ball enough at the end of the game. Kentucky also lacks an elite floor general. Quade Green and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just aren't good enough to get the job done. They also cannot seem to get a rebound. I know this is a young team, but I can't in my right mind see them as anything more than Sweet 16 knockouts.
Here's how I would rank all 4 after tonight:
1) Duke
2) Michigan State
3) Kansas
4) Kentucky
MVP goes to Grayson Allen for obvious reasons.
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