Freshman guard Tyrese Maxey pumped in 26 points in his collegiate debut Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden as No. 2 Kentucky knocked off No. 1 Michigan State 69-62 in the Champions Classic to open the season.
It marked the most points ever scored by a UK freshman in his first game with the Wildcats. The previous high was 25 by Terrence Jones in 2010 against East Tennessee State.
Kentucky got 47 points from the backcourt trio of Maxey, Ashton Hagans (11), and Immanuel Quickley (10).
Defensively, UK held the Spartans to just 39 percent (22 of 56) from the field and forced 16 turnovers. Senior guard Cassius Winston led Michigan State with 21 points but was only 5-for-12 from the field and 1-for-7 from the arc.
The Cats led 34-24 at the half and by as many as 13 in the second half before holding off a late run by the Spartans. A deep 3-pointer by Maxey with under two minutes to play pushed a two-point lead to five, helping UK seal the victory.
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In this "Quick Takes" feature, the CI staff offers its first impressions from the UK victory...
TRAVIS GRAF:
Kentucky has found exactly what it needed coming into this season, a guy you can give the ball to and he’ll go get you a bucket. Tyrese Maxey looks to be on the same level as former Cats Brandon Knight, Jamal Murray, and Malik Monk. Kentucky repeatedly made plays to extend the lead after Michigan State cut the lead down to one possession. Sestina made winning plays on both ends. Kentucky just needs to find consistency from another big man to pair with him. All in all, it was a phenomenal performance for a young squad against the number one team in the country. If there’s another backcourt that is better than Kentucky defensively, you’ll have to show me.
DAVID SISK:
It is obvious that Tyrese Maxey is a star in the college game. It reminded me of when Jamal Murray was getting the crucial touches. I just hope that is where the similarities stop, and he will have offensive help. I believe that will happen as John Calipari adjusts the offense to the collective strengths. One thing that will be forgotten with Maxey's performance was how good the defense was. They were energetic and smothering at times. I also thought the rotations off of the ball-screens were very good this early in the season. Another thing I took away from the game was how good the bigs were defensively. Xavier Tillman is very good and he only had seven points. Nate Sestina had seven, E.J. Montgomery had six, and Nick Richards five. So despite our frustrations at times with the inside scoring, they went blow for blow against the Spartans' physical inside players.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
Color me impressed. I really thought Michigan State's collective experience would be the difference in the game tonight, but the Cats looked like a really poised team in holding off a couple of late runs by the Spartans. Some young UK teams we have seen in the past may not have been able to hang on. Tyrese Maxey was incredible, hitting big 3s and tough drives to the basket to keep Michigan State at bay down the stretch. That will be a night he will never forget, especially doing it at Madison Square Garden, the "Mecca of Basketball." Kentucky's defense is expected to be really good this season, but I thought it was far better than anyone would have expected for opening night. That looked more like a quality mid-season performance.
