RJ Barrett, Julius Randle enemies for a night at MSG

The Knicks showed out to catch Kentucky-Duke at MSG

Most of the time when RJ Barrett and Julius Randle are in Madison Square Garden, they are on the same side. Not on Tuesday night. Not when Duke and Kentucky are playing against each other.

.@J30_RANDLE and @RjBarrett6 at MSG for the Champions Classic 🔥 pic.twitter.com/y7dXQcm03Z

— ESPN (@espn) November 10, 2021

Could there be some bad blood brewing between Barrett and Randle? Barrett shoved Randle to the floor during their game on Monday night.

KNICKS WIN pic.twitter.com/xbB8CLwBSM

— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) November 9, 2021

Barrett must be overwhelmed by the pro-Kentucky locker room. He is the only Duke guy on the roster and there are four former Kentucky Wildcats.

Jokes aside, Randle and Barrett weren’t the only ones in attendance for this one. It’s no secret that the team has strong connections to the Wildcats and John Calipari, specifically. Calipari is close with Knicks president Leon Rose and executive vice president William “World Wide Wes” Wesley.

He gave the front office pair a shoutout when he was interviewed during the MSG telecast for Knicks-Cavaliers on Sunday.

Obi Toppin came to see his brother Jacob, who plays for Calipari at Kentucky. Deuce McBride was also sitting near Randle. Immanuel Quickley covered the most ground on the night, going to see St. John’s smack Mississippi Valley State in Queens before making his way to MSG to see Kentucky.

Thanks for coming out @IQ_GodSon! @nyknicks #SJUBB #WeAreNewYorksTeam pic.twitter.com/mcnkc7HWpc

— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) November 10, 2021

After this off night in MSG, the Knicks will get back to work. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks (5-6) are in town on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Bucks are depleted by injuries and COVID issues, but they will hit their stride at some point. The Knicks are just hoping it doesn’t come on Wednesday.