National

Shorthanded Kansas tops Duke's latest wave of freshmen in Champions Classic

Down two rotation players and head coach Bill Self, Kansas still managed to pull out a big win against Duke at the Champions Classic on Tuesday.

The Jayhawks men's basketball team won 69-64 against a feisty Blue Devils team, which was again debuting a talented freshman class on the national stage.

Out for the game were talented freshman MJ Rice and projected starting center Zach Clemence, as well as head coach Bill Self, who is currently serving a four-game suspension. The Jayhawks didn't look troubled to start, though, as they opened the game by taking a 17-6 lead.

Duke slowly found its footing as the game went on, and were leading by six points early in the second half and by five with five minutes left in the game.

The hero of the game turned out be a freshman on Kansas's side, Gradey Dick. The Kansas native made three straight big baskets, first hitting a 3-pointer to retake the lead, then a dunk and a layup to give the Jayhawks their final lead.