Underdogs have done quite well in this four-team event, going 8-9 straight up and 12-5 against the spread since the event was introduced in 2011.

The Champions Classic is often a good early-season indicator of which of the four college basketball blue bloods in attendance have a chance to be elite. The games can reset narratives — remember Zion Williamson’s explosion onto the scene in 2018 or Kentucky making Bill Self wish he could turn water to vodka in 2014?