Grayson Allen Leads With 37 Points as Duke Beats Michigan St. In the State Farm Champions Classic
Number one and number two is a great regular season game, especially when it’s the third game of the season. Number 1 Duke vs. number 2 Michigan St. we’re playing in the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago. Coming into the game there was so much hype over freshman Marvin Bagley III vs. sophomore Miles Bridges and how Grayson Allen was going to lead Duke to the victory. History has shown that Coach K has owned Tom Izzo because Coach K is now 11-1 against Tom Izzo.
This year Duke is a very different team opposed from years past. In years past they had the players that could make five threes in a row and just be a lights out shooing team. This year’s team is built with a strong front court lead by freshmen Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter, and sophomore Marques Bolden. Trevon Duval is a great point guard that has explosiveness and can dish the ball around to finishing up to the rim. Then on the wing they have senior Grayson Allen and freshmen Gary Trent Jr.
Michigan St. is a tall, explosive team that likes to score in the open court off fast breaks and block shots. They are led by sophomore Miles Bridges, a talented freshman Jaren Jackson Jr, and senior center Nick Ward.
Now to the actual game, Duke struggled to get shots off against the Spartans in the paint. Marvin Bagley had a great game until his own teammate Javin Delurier poked him in the eye and he went down and was out for the remainder of the game. So, it was the next man up for Duke and the whole team came alive in the second half rallying around Grayson Allen. Grayson and the blue devils would come away with the victory 88-81. He finished with a career high 37 points. Trevon Duval finished with 17 points, 10 assists, and 6 steals.
Duke is a deep team and for the third game of the season against a top 2 team in the country is a tough task. It was a great game for both, but in the end Duke was too much for the Spartans. One loss isn’t going to stop the Spartans for being a great team because this could be the first of another game against these teams in March and that matchup could be potentially for the chance to raise the trophy in San Antonio.
