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. 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. The series is set to run through 2028.
The series was started as an early-season match-up of the nation's best and most consistent basketball programs as evidenced by the fact that all four teams have been ranked for every competition except on four occasions, Michigan State in 2011, 2021, 2022 and 2024. Only ten of the games played in the classic have been won by 10 or more points. The schools have combined for 12 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. 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 2025 games, Kansas and Duke are tied for the best records in the Champions Classic at 9–6, while Michigan State and Kentucky are each 6–9. Each team has at least one victory over each team in the classic. Kansas has a winning record vs each of the other three teams and Kentucky has a losing record vs each 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 No. 2 Kentucky 75 No. 12 Kansas 65 November 13, 2012 Georgia Dome(Atlanta, GA) No. 21 Michigan State 67 No. 7 Kansas 64 22,847 No. 9 Duke 75 No. 3 Kentucky 68 November 12, 2013 United Center(Chicago, IL) No. 2 Michigan State 78 No. 1 Kentucky 74 22,711 No. 5 Kansas 94 No. 4 Duke 83 November 18, 2014 Bankers Life Fieldhouse(Indianapolis, IN) No. 4 Duke 81 No. 19 Michigan State 71 19,306 No. 1 Kentucky 72 No. 5 Kansas 40 November 17, 2015 United Center(Chicago, IL) No. 2 Kentucky 74 No. 5 Duke 63 21,461 No. 13 Michigan State 79 No. 4 Kansas 73November 15, 2016Madison Square Garden(New York, NY)No. 2 Kentucky69No. 13 Michigan State48 19,812/photo/1No. 7 Kansas77No. 1 Duke 75November 14, 2017United Center(Chicago, IL)No. 1 Duke88No. 2 Michigan State81 21,684No. 4 Kansas65No. 7 Kentucky 61November 6, 2018Bankers Life Fieldhouse(Indianapolis, IN)No. 1 Kansas92No. 10 Michigan State87 19,584No. 4 Duke118No. 2 Kentucky 84November 5, 2019Madison Square Garden(New York, NY)No. 4 Duke68No. 3 Kansas66 19,812No. 2 Kentucky69No. 1 Michigan State 62December 1, 2020Cameron Indoor Stadium(Durham, NC) No. 8 Michigan State75No. 6 Duke 69 0Bankers Life Fieldhouse(Indianapolis, IN) No. 7 Kansas65No. 20 Kentucky 62 0November 9, 2021 Madison Square Garden(New York, NY) No. 3 Kansas 87 Michigan State 74 18,132 No. 9 Duke 79 No. 10 Kentucky 71November 15, 2022 Gainbridge Fieldhouse(Indianapolis, IN) No. 6 Kansas 69 No. 7 Duke 64 17,923 Michigan State 862OT No. 4 Kentucky 77November 14, 2023United Center(Chicago, IL)No. 9 Duke74No. 18 Michigan State65 18,780No. 1 Kansas89No. 17 Kentucky84November 12, 2024State Farm Arena(Atlanta, GA)No. 1 Kansas77Michigan State69 16,107 No. 19 Kentucky 77 No. 6 Duke 72November 18, 2025 Madison Square Garden(New York, NY) No. 17 Michigan State83 No. 12 Kentucky66 19,327 No. 5 Duke 78 No. 24 Kansas 66
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. No attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Future match-ups
Date Location Match-ups November 10, 2026 United Center(Chicago, IL) Michigan State vs. DukeKansas vs. Kentucky 2027 TBA Kentucky vs. DukeKansas vs. Michigan State 2028 TBA Kentucky vs. Michigan StateDuke vs. Kansas
Head-to-head records
DukeKansasKentuckyMichigan Statevs. Duke – 3–2 2–3 1–4 vs. Kansas 2–3 – 2–3 2–3vs. Kentucky 3–2 3–2 – 3–2 4–1 3–2 2–3 –Total9–69–66–96–9
References