By ADAM ZAGORIA
More than 60 NBA personnel from all 30 NBA teams have already been credentialed for the Champions Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, a source close to the event told ZAGSBLOG.
No. 9 Kentucky faces No. 17 Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by No. 4 Duke against No. 25 Kansas at 9 (ESPN).
Kansas features projected No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Darryn Peterson, but coach Bill Self officially ruled him out Tuesday with a hamstring injury.
“Darryn continues to make progress from his hamstring strain,” he said in a statement. “He will be reevaluated at the end of the week.”
Duke features Top-3 projected pick Cam Boozer, who is coming off a 35-point, 12-rebound night on Friday in a 100-62 rout of Indiana State, as well as projected first-round pick Isaiah Evans and second-round prospect Nikolas Khamenia.
Kentucky has Otega Oweh, the SEC Preseason Player of the Year, while projected lottery pick Jayden Quaintance remains out as he recovers from ACL surgery.
Meantime, about 30 NBA scouts are credentialed to see AJ Dybantsa and BYU next week in Disney. The Cougars, who are coming off an 86-84 loss to No. 3 UConn on Saturday in Boston, face Miami on Thanksgiving and then either Georgetown or Dayton that Friday.
“For me, he’s the easy No 1 [pick],” one NBA executive said of Dybantsa, adding: “This college freshmen class is insane.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
