November is always a fun time in college basketball as some of the nation’s top teams fly around the country playing in holiday tournaments that put together matchups you’d rarely see otherwise.
The best early season event this year? The Champions Classic, which will feature Duke and Jabari Parker against Kansas and Andrew Wiggins as the undercard to Michigan State and Kentucky, which could end up being No. 1 vs. No. 2.
On the fifth day of the season.
That’ll be awesome, and you better believe that Tom Izzo and his Spartans are looking forward to the challenge. According to a student in attendance at Michigan State’s Midnight Madness, Izzo dropped this gem: “We are working to kick Kentucky’s [rear end].”
Well, word got back to John Calipari about this, and two times over the course of the last four days, Cal has managed to reference that quote.
“It’s not just Kentucky they want to beat,” Cal said on Kentucky Sports Radio, “it’s you because you got the scholarship they wanted.” Shots fired. But wait, it gets better. Cal unloaded this beauty at a luncheon for Louisville’s Wildcat Tip-Off Club:
Izzo and Cal get along, and most of this is good-natured back-and-forth between a couple of competitors.
But I’ll tell you what, no one can spin the way that Coach Cal can spin: “Oh, you’re biggest game of the year is against us? Well guess what. We’re trying to go undefeated, so EVERY game we play is our biggest game of the year. Because we’re so much more awesome than you.”
I’m sure this will rankle some feathers, but you know what?
I love it.
And I cannot wait for Izzo to fire back.