If you go to ESPN, the “top headline” won’t be about how Kentucky beat Duke in the Champions Classic. It won’t be over Highlight Pope‘s first high-profile win in his first high-profile matchup. It won’t even go away Cooper Flagg‘s 26-point, 12-rebound performance for Duke.

No. Instead, the “top headline” focuses on what Duke’s head coach is Jon Scheyer said at his post-match press conference. Cramps have been an issue for the Blue Devils so far this season and Tuesday night was no different. Scheyer says that was one reason Kentucky was able to stage a comeback.

“We still have a long season to go,” Scheyer said. “I feel more optimistic about losing tonight than before because in this game you discover the character of your team, the heart they have, and this team has a lot of heart. We are missing Khaman (Maluach) — I think we were up by nine when Khaman started having cramps in the first half. Zion (James) at. There was a huge run for us, Sion got hurt and they hit a 3. It was a double whammy.

What Scheyer didn’t mention was that with a lead of nine and 2:28 left in the first half, Maluach was tagged with his second personal foul. He went to the bench and did not return until the second half. Maluach was clearly in some form of pain throughout the second half, limiting his availability and impact throughout. In that ESPN “top headline” article, Jeff Borzello reported that Maluach was dealing with both an injured knee (which happened early in the second half after Andreas Carr landed on him) And cramps after rest.

“Look, it’s concerning,” Scheyer said of his players’ cramps. “I think part of it is that we have young bodies. I think that’s part of it, that we have to help these guys. Again, we’re not just trying to dip our toes in the water. We need Cooper to play a lot and Khaman.”

Has Maluach’s absence helped Kentucky? Naturally. When a future 7-foot-2 lottery pick is out of play, this will make life a little easier.

But Kentucky was already moving in the right direction to start the second half. A simpler explanation would be that the Wildcats’ veterans wore down Duke’s freshmen as the game dragged on. Flags and Kon Knüppel combined to shoot just 6-20 in the second half Caleb Foster was 0-4. Duke turned the ball over six times after recording just one in the first 20 minutes. Pope made the necessary adjustments to earn the win.

Maybe Scheyer should work a few more bananas into his pre-game meal.