John Calipari talks with SVP about Kentucky's victory over Michigan State and the performance of Malik Monk. (2:50)

Frank will tell you what the dazzling effort by Kentucky's backcourt in the Champions Classic means.

Sinatra, not Mason III or Jackson.

"I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleep ..." he croons in "New York, New York."

The bright lights of Midtown seek none. They don't have to. They're summoned by acts compelling enough to prompt a metropolis full of people with places to go and things to see to pause for a moment and watch.

Perhaps the final minutes of Tuesday's Champions Classic matchup between Duke and Kansas at Madison Square Garden, finalized on a Frank Mason III grown-man jumper, convinced the late arrivals that the main event matched the hype. But the Champions Classic only offered confirmation of realities we all recognized prior to games that mostly lacked the competitiveness most envisioned.

Duke? Once the "Men in Black" -- injured freshmen Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Marques Bolden wore dark suits on the sideline -- get healthy and make their collegiate debuts, Duke could storm through the ACC. But the Blue Devils aren't yet juggernauts.

Kansas? If you tell the tenacious Jayhawks to meet you in the alley for a scrap, they'll just say, "When and where?"

Michigan State? The combination of a hectic travel schedule (Hawai'i to New York City), youth and significant injuries haunts a program desperate for a dose of love from a home crowd in East Lansing.

And Kentucky? Well, maybe the Wildcats offered something more.

On a night of sloppy play -- see Grayson Allen's 4-for-15 effort, Josh Jackson's foul trouble, Michigan State's 19 percent clip from the 3-point line and Kentucky's loss in the battle of the boards to a bunch of shorter Spartans -- Isaiah Briscoe, De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk issued a statement: We're ready for this.

That's the only reasonable expectation and standard for a marquee bout less than a week into the 2016-17 campaign. Can you handle this?

Yes, the spotlight magnified some of Kentucky's flaws. The Wildcats not named Monk (7-for-11 from the 3-point line) finished 0-for-10 from beyond the arc, confirming coach John Calipari's preseason concerns.

"They're trying to create for each other," he said during SEC media day last month. "If someone played us zone, we'd punt."

But those challenges could not overshadow the preeminence of a backcourt trio that left the Garden looking like the most promising collection of guards in the country.

Kentucky guard Malik Monk is averaging 16.3 points per game so far this season. Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

Fox (12 points, 6 assists and 3 turnovers) transmits his passes and authors fast breaks on a private, speedy Wi-Fi network only he can access. Monk dismissed the streaky start to his collegiate career to score 23 points and assume the offensive catalyst role Calipari assumed he'd handle prior to the season. And Briscoe, a young old man, scored 21 points, hit all five free throws and remained the steady leader any team needs.

"I mean," Fox told ESPN.com recently, "I don't think we have a limit."

We don't know if Kentucky will win the national championship. We don't know if the Wildcats will dominate the rest of their nonconference slate and blitz the SEC like the 2014-15 squad did. We don't know if their current issues, rebounding and extending the floor with consistent shooting from the field, will linger into January or beyond.

But we do know every titanic team demands a competitive and confident backcourt to reach the pinnacle. All things extend from a backcourt's ability to strengthen the nucleus on both ends of the floor.

Monk, Fox and Briscoe, thus far, seem to comprise the kind of trio that boasts the defensive assertiveness and offensive edge to will Kentucky to its peak as it rumbles through a season that will present more challenges than Michigan State's undersized lineup.

"We some dogs," Monk said about his team before the season.

He's not lying.

All of this started with a smile.

In one offseason pickup game in Lexington, Monk and Fox played on opposing teams that battled every possession in one of those who's-the-alpha-dog-now moments. On the sideline, Briscoe smirked -- he did not participate -- as his new teammates competed like the pickup game counted for something more.

At the time, Calipari refused to put the trio together. Not yet. He preferred to toy with other ideas and lineups.

In the team's season-opening exhibition win over Clarion, Briscoe and Fox started and Monk played off the bench. Still, not yet.

But when they all competed together on the most prominent stage of the nonconference season, they showed the world what all the hype was about.

Much of what happens in November is a mirage. Teams will grow and evolve, while others will regress. You can't believe everything you see right now.

This, however, is true and tangible: When challenged in the big city at a historic venue with the college basketball world watching, Kentucky's backcourt did not run from the lights of New York City.

They basked in them. And that's the most important lesson the Champions Classic taught us.

"And if I can make it there," Sinatra says, "I'm gonna make it anywhere."

Wait a minute .... That's Dillon Brooks' music!

The Oregon star could return next week, per ESPN's Andy Katz. The Ducks finished 3-for-21 from the 3-point line in a 17-point road loss to Baylor on Tuesday. Would Brooks have saved them? His return alters the prospects of a program seeking its first Final Four appearance since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's term in office (1939).

Let's see what a healthy Oregon squad can do once Brooks gets into shape and begins to play significant minutes.

The Indiana Story: It's OK to Say to 'No' to the NBA

After Indiana's redemptive 2015-16 season, James Blackmon Jr., OG Anunoby and Thomas Bryant considered their options. All three had a chance to turn pro. Anunoby's athleticism might have helped him get into the league, but Blackmon and Bryant both needed another season in college.

So they all came back to Bloomington.

Indiana's OG Anunoby is averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per game for the Hoosiers. Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Smart decision. Can't say the same for undrafted players like Isaiah Taylor, Wayne Selden and former Indiana standout Troy Williams.

In Indiana's 103-99 win over Kansas in the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu on Friday, Anunoby, Bryant and Blackmon combined to score 58 points, grab 23 rebounds and go 9-for-20 from the 3-point line.

All three could elevate their draft positions in what could become a run to the Big Ten title and more.

Some view fringe prospects who choose to come back for another season as busts or failures. And that's silly. The goal is to enter the draft when you've reached your most lucrative position in the eyes of pro executives. There's nothing wrong with wanting more time at the Division I level. Those decisions could help Indiana reach the Final Four.

Early injuries trouble the Miller brothers

When Grayson Allen limped off the floor late in the first half of his team's loss to Kansas on Tuesday, fans of a Duke team that entered the game without Bolden, Giles and Tatum all gasped.

Allen returned. And the talented youngsters who missed the Champions Classic will, too.

The opening weeks of the season, however, did not bestow the same luck upon competitive programs coached by two brothers.

Kadeem Allen of Arizona missed the team's win over CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday with a sprained ankle and will be evaluated throughout the week, only days after his coast-to-coast game-winning layup over Michigan State in the Armed Forces Classic. Coach Sean Miller has already lost Ray Smith, who retired after suffering his third ACL injury during an exhibition, and Allonzo Trier remains sidelined by issues Miller won't address.

His brother, Archie Miller, now expects Bradley transfer Josh Cunningham (12.5 points per game) to miss significant time after he suffered a "lower leg" injury on a late dunk in Dayton's road win over Alabama on Tuesday. Standout Kendall Pollard missed the win because of a thigh bruise.

The talented siblings could use a break. Soon.

Ask Wisconsin: Creighton's among the best

Yeah, the Badgers couldn't buy a 3-pointer in their road loss to Creighton on Tuesday. But let's focus on the Bluejays for a moment. Maurice Watson Jr., Khyri Thomas and Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster combined to score 50 of their team's 79 points, while also recording six collective steals.

Creighton's Khyri Thomas is one of three players averaging 17 points per game for the Bluejays. Eric Francis/Getty Images

That's an elite backcourt backing Greg McDermott's most explosive team (1.2 points per possession against the Badgers) in the post-Doug McDermott era. They can defend, too. Creighton swarmed Bronson Koenig (3-for-13 from the 3-point line, four turnovers). That's a problem for the rest of Creighton's nonconference slate and the Big East.

Przemek Karnowski's return encourages Final Four hype for Gonzaga

Last year, Karnowski, Gonzaga's interior force, suffered a back injury early in the season. By late December, he'd undergone season-ending surgery after competing in just a handful of games. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet 16 without him, but the big man's absence affected their frontcourt depth for the duration of the season.

During one play in Gonzaga's 69-48 win over San Diego State on Monday night, Karnowski drew a double-team before he shot a no-look pass to Missouri transfer Johnathan Williams, who finished with a dunk. Big Smooth alone will not carry Gonzaga to an unprecedented Final Four run. His return, however, is one of the West Coast's most impactful storylines.

Mark Few's Transfer U -- Williams, Nigel Williams-Goss (Washington) and Jordan Mathews (Cal) -- has already demonstrated some of the early kinks that an infusion of new faces often incites (16 turnovers in a win over Utah Valley in the season opener) along with the promise of a squad that's far more than just a West Coast Conference title contender. Karnowski has connected on 65 percent of his shots thus far.

In the coming months, Gonzaga could evolve into a national title sleeper, especially if Karnowski stays healthy all season.

Remember that time Illinois' Malcolm Hill dropped 40 points and nobody seemed to care?

Illinois' Maclolm Hill is averaging 21.3 points and eight rebounds per game this season. Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire

The Illini senior sandwiched that 13-for-23 effort against Northern Kentucky between a 21-point game in the team's season-opening victory over Southeast Missouri State and a three-point outing against Division II McKendree on Tuesday.

Remember Monte Morris ...

... as these early conversations about Wooden Award winners persist. Morris dealt with numerous injuries last season -- he couldn't practice in the final weeks because of shoulder problems -- but he has excelled in the transition to his new role as the focus of an Iowa State attack that lost Georges Niang to the NBA.

During July's Nike Skills Academy in Los Angeles, multiple scouts agreed Morris was the best player on a court stacked with guys named Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, Malcolm Hill, Chris Boucher, Miles Bridges and Tyler Dorsey.

The most promising element of his season thus far? Morris' 14 assists and two turnovers.

"I'm definitely gonna have to, sometimes, just put my head down and make a play," Morris said this summer at the Skills Academy. "That's just what it will be. But I know what I got myself into coming back, with us losing those seniors. Hell, I just gotta make plays and see what happens."