Two staples of John Calipari’s teams at Kentucky: they start each season with several prominent players who are low on experience but bring high expectations, and they play another highly ranked team relatively early in the schedule.
That was, of course, the case again Tuesday night, when a No. 2-ranked UK team filled with five-star freshmen matched up with No. 4 Duke at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.
It was the first time in Calipari’s 10 seasons at Kentucky that his team has actually opened the season against a ranked opponent, though that first game against a ranked foe has come during the first week of the season over each of the past seven years.