First real test of 2016-17 has arrived for Duke men's basketball with Champions Classic showdown against Kansas

<p>Sophomore Luke Kennard has been on fire through exhibition play and Duke's first two regular-season games.&nbsp;</p>

Sophomore Luke Kennard has been on fire through exhibition play and Duke's first two regular-season games. 

When the Blue Devils last faced off against the Jayhawks in 2013, the early-season battle served as the opening showcase for highly-touted freshmen Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins.

Although both teams have their share of talented freshmen once again this year, the storyline when two of college basketball’s most storied programs face off Tuesday will revolve around a battle of returning players in the backcourt.

No. 1 Duke will face its first stiff challenge of the season Tuesday when it takes on No. 7 Kansas in the second game of the Champions Classic at 9:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Blue Devils are coming off a pair of dominant victories against Marist and Grand Canyon and had five players average double figures last weekend, but will likely rely on only six players against the 12-time reigning Big 12 champions.

After failing to knock off a ranked nonconference opponent last season for the first time in 20 years, Duke will be put to the test right away against a dangerous Jayhawk squad that was tabbed No. 3 in the preseason rankings.

“We’ve seen that we’re a talented group and that we have multiple guys that can fill it up and play, and that’s going to be good for us going forward, the depth that we do have,” Blue Devil junior Grayson Allen said after Saturday's win against the Antelopes. “It starts on defense for us, and that’s when we’re at our best.”

Duke (2-0) will need to be at its best on that end of the floor Tuesday with the Jayhawks’ veteran guards Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham making up arguably the best backcourt in the nation. Despite standing just 5-foot-11, Mason III is a physical floor general who makes his mark by attacking defenders off pick-and-rolls to create for himself and others when defenses try to shut down driving lanes. 

Having Graham—who shot 44.1 percent from behind the arc a season ago and helps the Jayhawks (0-1) space the floor—beside him allowed Mason III to find even wider lanes to the hoop in his team’s season opening 103-99 overtime loss to then-No. 11 Indiana in the Armed Forces Classic Friday.

The duo will certainly put pressure on a thin Blue Devil roster that will be without freshmen Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden for the third straight game. Mason III and Graham combined to take 24 free throws against the Hoosiers and could cause serious foul trouble for Duke.

The Blue Devils got their first taste of what playing with fouls can be like Saturday when sophomore Chase Jeter and freshman Frank Jackson both picked up their fourth fouls with more than 10 minutes remaining.

“[Chase and Frank] were very, very smart,” sophomore guard Luke Kennard said. “Frank is one of our best defenders and playing with four fouls—it was cool to see him do that. He gives us energy on the defensive end for sure, so him and Chase having four fouls, it’s good to know that they can play without fouling.”

Like the Jayhawks, Duke has its own group of veteran ball-handlers that have started the season well.

Although Allen garnered much of the attention in the offseason as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, Kennard has shown the ability to get hot in a hurry, shooting 50.0 percent from deep through two games. After struggling to find consistency with his perimeter shot a year ago, the Franklin, Ohio, native appears to have adjusted to the pace of the college game and taken the Blue Devil coaching staff’s advice to attack the basket more this season.

Allen and senior Matt Jones have also been instrumental in helping Duke move the ball and getting a Blue Devil team devoid of a true point guard into sets that lead to open shots. After finishing with a season-low six points on 2-of-11 shooting in a loss against Kentucky in the Champions Classic a year ago, Allen will look to use Tuesday’s marquee matchup as his first chance to make a statement on the national stage this year.

“The thing that impresses me most is just how aggressive they are, especially whether it be freedom offensively to shoot the ball or to drive it and put pressure on you,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said on a teleconference Sunday afternoon. “They’re about as good a shooting team as we’ll play all year.”

With much of the attention on Duke’s returning talent, freshman Frank Jackson—the newest addition to the Blue Devil backcourt—got off to a fast start with an average of 19.5 points per game in the team’s first two games. Jackson came into college with the knack for putting the ball in the basket, but has also shown the defensive intensity Duke will need to defend the likes of Mason III and Graham.

“I’ve been waiting for this game for a while now since the schedule came out,” Jackson said. “Especially to play in Madison Square Garden, not too many people get to do that, so we’re looking to come out there and compete and play our hardest.”

Although Tuesday’s game may feature a different Blue Devil team than many expected with three five-star recruits dressed in street clothes, Duke enters the contest with a chance to show the nation how well it can adjust to a slew of injuries with three games in the span of six days. The Blue Devils will take on Penn State Saturday and either Cincinnati or No. 21 Rhode Island this weekend in the Hall-of-Fame Tip-Off Classic in Uncasville, Conn. 

“When you’re in the game, and all of a sudden you look and you can’t put them in the game, alright, then it’s not real smart to be thinking of them,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “It’s better to think about who we have.” 

Hank Tucker and Mitchell Gladstone contributed reporting.

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