Kentucky vs. Duke basketball doesn’t happen that often. We must savor it when it does.

Time has this tendency to fly, but it has been three years almost to the day since the last time college basketball royalty Kentucky and Duke, no mere blue bloods, have played each other on a hardwood floor.

In fact, the Cats and Blue Devils, forever linked in hoops lore, have met just twice since 2018. Both games were in the Champions Classic. Duke won both. There was that shocking 118-74 Blue Devils romp in Indianapolis in 2018. And there was that more mundane 79-71 Blue Devils victory in New York in 2021.

They meet again Tuesday. The setting is Champions Classic 2024. The site is Atlanta. Much has changed since their last meeting, however. It’s still Kentucky blue vs. Duke blue, but this time with something new.

The 37-year-old Jon Scheyer is in his third year as Duke’s head coach after succeeding retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Scheyer was a guard on the Blue Devils’ 2010 national championship team. The 52-year-old Mark Pope is in his first year as Kentucky’s head coach after succeeding departed Hall of Famer John Calipari. Pope was a forward on the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team.

No. 7 in this season’s preseason AP Top 25, Duke is 2-0, having beaten Maine (96-62) and Army (100-54). No. 23 in that same preseason AP Top 25, Kentucky is 2-0, having beaten Wright State (103-62) and Bucknell (100-72).

Both coaches are into analytics. Both coaches embrace the 3-pointer. Duke made 11 of 29 3-point shots in its win over Maine, then 17 of 38 in its romp over Army. Kentucky made 11 of 24 3-point shots in the season opener against Wright State, then 13 of 36 while beating Bucknell.

Duke has the high-flying freshmen. Again. Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 guard/forward/center from Newport, Maine, was every scout’s No. 1 in the class of 2024. Kon Knueppel, a 6-7 guard from Milwaukee, has scored 37 points in the first two games. Khaman Maluach, a 7-2 center from South Sudan, grabbed 20 rebounds in the Blue Devils’ first two outings.

Flagg scored 13 points with 11 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in Duke’s win against Army. He did all that while battling cramping issues, a sore spot with Scheyer. “I can promise you I’m going to be meeting (with the team’s training staff),” the coach said after Friday’s game. “I don’t care if it’s all night. We can’t have that happen. Bottom line.”

Kentucky boasts more experience. In UK’s first two games, Pope has started four seniors (Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Amari Williams, Jaxson Robinson) and one junior (Otega Oweh), while bringing three more seniors (Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea and Kerr Kriisa) off the bench.

Thing is, Kentucky’s players lack experience in a Champions Classic-type setting. Butler did play in a Final Four at San Diego State. And Kriisa played at Arizona. For the most part, their teammates have played at more mid-level Division I schools that rarely made their way onto the bigger stages.

That isn’t to say they won’t be ready. You have to be impressed by the Cats’ break from the gate. They share the ball. They defend. They play with the quickness Pope wants on offense. And they rebounded against Bucknell (57-35 edge), which the coach called a step forward from previous efforts on the glass.

“I’m telling you it’s a gift as a coach to have guys that are curious and guys that are humble and guys that want to get better,” Pope said Saturday. “We don’t use the words curious very often, and we don’t talk about humility very often. But we have a ton of that on our team.”

We’re certainly curious. We’re curious to see how the two basketball Goliaths match up Tuesday. We’re curious to see the hype that is Flagg. We’re curious to see how Duke defends UK’s Brea, a sizzling 10-for-12 from 3-point range so far. We’re curious to see how this all-new Kentucky team matches up against players with D-U-K-E stitched across their chests.

After all, we don’t get Kentucky vs. Duke all that often. Tuesday will be but the fifth meeting in the past 20 years. Savor it while we can.

This story was originally published November 10, 2024 at 10:32 AM.

John Clay

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-472-4218

John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys. Support my work with a digital subscription