On Tuesday night, No. 4 Kentucky men’s basketball (2-1) fell to unranked Michigan State (2-1) 86-77 in double overtime at the 2022 Champions Classic. Reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, who played his first game of the season and was dominant all night, fouled out in the opening period of overtime, which opened the door for the Spartans to get the second OT. MSU outscored UK 15-6 in the final extra period. Tshiebwe was the star of the night despite the loss for Kentucky, finishing with 22 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. He was aided by an impressive line of 14 points, five assists and eight steals from freshman Cason Wallace, while Shahvir Wheeler contributed 16 points and eight assists. Jacob Toppin rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and four rebounds. Britain shot just 38.6 percent from the floor and 7-25 from distance. Michigan State outscored the ‘Cats by seven and shot 37 percent from deep. The Spartans were led by 23 points and eight rebounds from Joey Houser along with 20 points and five rebounds from Malik Hall. From the first end, Wallace made his presence felt on the defensive end, which would quickly become a theme throughout the night. Kentucky held an early lead, 6-4, at the opening media timeout and continued to hold a slim advantage for most of the half. The ‘Cats extended their lead to seven around the eight minute mark before the Spartans came alive. At the halftime break, MSU held a slight 36-34 lead. Britain had five points, three assists and five steals from Wallace along with 11 points and seven rebounds from Tshiebwe. Kentucky was just 2-10 from long range and was outscored 7-0 in fastbreak points. Out of the locker room, Michigan State struck first to go ahead by five before the ‘Cats rolled. A 3-pointer from the corner by Toppin tied the game at 39 as the score would remain at five points for the remainder of the second half. In the under 12 minute media timeout, Toppin and CJ Fredrick were facing three fouls and it wasn’t long before Tshiebwe was hit with his third. A Michigan State jumper later tied the game at 58, but a Toppin free throw followed by a Chiboue offensive rebound and drive layup gave Kentucky a three-point lead with less than two minutes left in regulation. Another jump shot by MSU cut the lead to one, which eventually led to a missed mid-range layup by Tshiebwe. The Spartans recovered with 35.6 seconds left to trail 61-60. But Wallace appeared for the umpteenth time on the defensive end, forcing a jump ball after Michigan State’s shot in the lane with 18 seconds left didn’t fall. Fittingly, Wallace was fouled on the ensuing play, making one of two down the line. MSU called timeout 62-60 with 11 seconds left. Tshiebwe blocked Michigan State’s first out-of-bounds attempt, but the Spartans then got an open dunk to tie the game at 62. UK called a timeout and drew a play that led to a half-court shot by Toppin that it was nowhere close, sending the game into the first overtime. Kentucky opened overtime with a pair of Toppin free throws and a Wheeler 3-pointer to take its first five-point lead since the first half. But MSU answered with five points of its own to tie the game at 67-67 with about two minutes left. As the clock neared 30 seconds, Tshiebwe was called for a moving screen, which fouled him out of the game and gave the ball back to Michigan State. The Spartans would once again tie the game in the final seconds as another overtime was on its way. Without Tshiebwe on the floor, Kentucky fell on both ends from there. Michigan State led 82-76 with less than a minute left, but it sealed the loss for UK. The Spartans sealed the deal with an 86-77 victory. A 16-24 (66.7 percent) clip from the free throw line for the ‘Cats played a major role in the disappointing result. Next up for Kentucky is a Thursday game against South Carolina State, followed by a road game against No. 2 Gonzaga on Sunday.
