Champions Classic

Sport	College Basketball
Founded	2011
No. of teams	4
Venue(s)	Varies
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Sponsor(s)	State Farm
Official website	https://espnevents.com/champions-classic

The Champions Classic is an event that tips off the NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It features four of the top college basketball programs in the United States: Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State.^[1] The venue changes from year to year, with Madison Square Garden being the first venue. The first Classic was held on November 15, 2011. This would be the beginning of a three-year rotation, originally scheduled to end in 2013, where each of the teams would play each other once. The event is televised on ESPN.^[2] The series is set to run through 2025.^[3]

The series was started as an early-season match-up of the nation's best and most consistent basketball programs^[4] as evidenced by the fact that all four teams have been ranked for every competition except on three occasions, Michigan State in 2011, 2021, and 2022. Only eight of the games played in the classic have been won more 10 or more points. The schools have combined for 9 National Championships, 37 Final Fours, and 21 National Championship game appearances since 1988. Three of the four teams from the 2014 event advanced to the 2015 Final Four (Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan State) with Duke winning the National Championship that year. The 2019 games featured the schools ranked first, second, third, and fourth in both the AP and Coaches polls.^[5] From 2017 to 2021, all four teams were coached by members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; Bill Self of Kansas was the last of the four coaches inducted in 2017, Mike Krzyzewski retired at the end of the 2021–22 season.

As of the conclusion of the 2023 games, Duke and Kansas have the best record in the Champions Classic at 8–5, followed by Kentucky and Michigan State at 5–8. Each team has at least one victory over each team in the classic, and Kansas is the only team that does not have a losing record to one of the other three teams. Only once has a game gone into overtime, in 2022 when Michigan State defeated Kentucky. The most points scored was 118 by Duke in 2018, while the fewest was 40 by Kansas in 2014. The largest margin of defeat was 34 points when Duke defeated Kentucky 118–84 in 2018. The closest game was a Kansas victory over Duke by 2 points (77–75) in 2016.

Game results

Rankings are based on the Associated Press poll.

Date	Location	Winning team		Losing team		Attendance
November 15, 2011	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 6 Duke	74	Michigan State	69	19,979
November 15, 2011	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 2 Kentucky	75	No. 12 Kansas	65	19,979
November 13, 2012	Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)	No. 21 Michigan State	67	No. 7 Kansas	64	22,847
November 13, 2012	Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)	No. 9 Duke	75	No. 3 Kentucky	68	22,847
November 12, 2013	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 2 Michigan State	78	No. 1 Kentucky	74	22,711
November 12, 2013	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 5 Kansas	94	No. 4 Duke	83	22,711
November 18, 2014	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)	No. 4 Duke	81	No. 19 Michigan State	71	19,306
November 18, 2014	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)	No. 1 Kentucky	72	No. 5 Kansas	40	19,306
November 17, 2015	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 2 Kentucky	74	No. 5 Duke	63	21,461
November 17, 2015	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 13 Michigan State	79	No. 4 Kansas	73	21,461
November 15, 2016	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 2 Kentucky	69	No. 13 Michigan State	48	19,812^[6]
November 15, 2016	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 7 Kansas	77	No. 1 Duke	75	19,812^[6]
November 14, 2017	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 1 Duke	88	No. 2 Michigan State	81	21,684
November 14, 2017	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 4 Kansas	65	No. 7 Kentucky	61	21,684
November 6, 2018	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)	No. 1 Kansas	92	No. 10 Michigan State	87	19,584
November 6, 2018	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)	No. 4 Duke	118	No. 2 Kentucky	84	19,584
November 5, 2019	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 4 Duke	68	No. 3 Kansas	66	19,812
November 5, 2019	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 2 Kentucky	69	No. 1 Michigan State	62	19,812
December 1, 2020	Cameron Indoor Stadium^a (Durham, NC)	No. 8 Michigan State	75	No. 6 Duke	69	0^b
December 1, 2020	Bankers Life Fieldhouse^a (Indianapolis, IN)	No. 7 Kansas	65	No. 20 Kentucky	62	0^b
November 9, 2021	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 3 Kansas	87	Michigan State	74	18,132
November 9, 2021	Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)	No. 9 Duke	79	No. 10 Kentucky	71	18,132
November 15, 2022	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)	No. 6 Kansas	69	No. 7 Duke	64	17,923
November 15, 2022	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)	Michigan State	86^2OT	No. 4 Kentucky	77	17,923
November 14, 2023	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 9 Duke	74	No. 18 Michigan State	65	18,780
November 14, 2023	United Center (Chicago, IL)	No. 1 Kansas	89	No. 17 Kentucky	84	18,780

^a Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicting safety protocols between the various conferences, Michigan State played its Champions Classic game at Duke while Kentucky and Kansas played in Indianapolis.^[7]
^b No attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Future match-ups

Date	Location	Match-ups
2024	State Farm Arena (Atlanta, GA)	Kansas vs. Michigan State Kentucky vs Duke
2025	TBD	Michigan State vs Kentucky Kansas vs. Duke

Head-to-head records

	Duke	Kansas	Kentucky	Michigan State
vs. Duke	–	3–1	1–3	1–4
vs. Kansas	1–3	–	2–3	2–2
vs. Kentucky	3–1	3–2	–	2–2
vs. Michigan State	4–1	2–2	2–2	–
Total	8–5	8–5	5–8	5–8

References

^ Katz, Andy (December 8, 2010). "Marquee programs to meet early". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
^ "New Event Pits Four of Basketball's Winningest Programs". Duke Sports Information. December 8, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
^ "State Farm Champions Classic Renewed for Three More Years". ESPNPressRoom.com.
^ "This Champions Classic gives us the greatest opening night in the history of college basketball". CBSsports.com. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
^ "Reactions to the College Basketball Preseason AP Top 25 Poll: Is This the Best Champions Classic Ever?". Stadium. 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
^ Champions Classic [@championclassic] (November 17, 2016). "19,812 came out to see a great start to the college basketball season at @TheGarden. #ChampionsClassic" (Tweet) – via Twitter./photo/1
^ Crawford, Kirkland. "Michigan State basketball at Duke reportedly to play Dec. 1 in Champions Classic". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-11-06.

Links to related articles

NCAA men's college basketball showcases

Division I

Neutral

Armed Forces Classic
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Campus &
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Exempt	Acrisure Classic Bill Frack Tournament Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational Challenge In Music City Fordham Showcase High Point University Classic Holy City Hoops Classic Indiana Classic Lone Star Showcase Men vs. Cancer Classic MSG Holiday Festival NIU Showcase Red Diamond Roundball Classic San Diego Classic Sanford Pentagon Showcase Steve Wright Classic Tarkett Sports Classic
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Division II

Division III

v t e Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
Venues	The Ark (1906–1923) Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1930) Card Gymnasium (1930–1939) Cameron Indoor Stadium (1940–present)
Rivalries	Maryland Michigan North Carolina (Carlyle Cup)
Culture & lore	Blue Devil Big Four Tournament Blue blood status Cameron Crazies Champions Classic Dixie Classic I Hate Christian Laettner Krzyzewskiville "The Shot" Tobacco Road 1991 UNLV game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Venues	Robinson Gymnasium (1907–1927) Hoch Auditorium (1927–1955) Allen Fieldhouse (1955–present)
Rivalries	Kansas State (results) Missouri
Culture & lore	Big Jay Baby Jay Blue blood status Champions Classic "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" Jayhawkers
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Centre (historical) Florida Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)
Culture & lore	History under Adolph Rupp Fabulous Five Point-shaving scandal Fiddlin' Five Rupp's Runts The Season Without Celebration "The Shot" Unforgettables Untouchables Comeback Cats John Wall Dance Tweakables Pursuit of Perfection 2011 Indiana game Basketbowl Champions Classic CBS Sports Classic The Rivalry: Red v. Blue The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Big Blue Nation Blue blood status
People	Head coaches Honorees NBA draftees Players Statistical leaders
Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

v t e Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
Venues	Armory (1899–1918) IM Circle (1918–1930) Demonstration Hall (1930–1940) Jenison Fieldhouse (1940–1989) Breslin Student Events Center (1989–present)
Rivalries	Michigan
Culture & lore	Basketbowl Champions Classic "The Flintstones" Izzone Michigan State University student riots
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics