KSR Staff Predictions: Kentucky vs. Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic

Kentucky Basketball is back in action on Saturday in the Big Apple, taking on Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden (5:30 PM ET, CBS). As you know, the Cats are 10-1 so far this season and up to No. 4 in the polls. Ohio State is 7-4, losing three of its last five games, including a 38-point loss to Auburn on Dec. 14.

Although the Buckeyes are struggling, there are still plenty of storylines in this matchup. Will Aaron Bradshaw play against his old school? The former Cat has not played since Nov. 19 after being investigated by Ohio State for an alleged “domestic incident,” but has returned to team activities. Meechie Johnson, who transferred back to Ohio State after two years at South Carolina, is on a leave of absence to “address some personal matters.” It’s also Mark Pope’s first game as Kentucky’s head coach in Madison Square Garden, a building that holds many memories for the former Cat and New York Knickerbocker.

Will the Cats take care of business or stumble under the bright lights in New York City? The KSR crew is ready to weigh in.

Drew Franklin

Ohio State is trending in the wrong direction since beating No. 19 Texas in the season opener. The Buckeyes’ 5-1 start went sideways with consecutive losses to Maryland and Rutgers, then a 38-point loss to Auburn in a neutral-site holiday game last Saturday. Four days later, fifth-year guard Meechie Johnson stepped away from the team for personal reasons, leaving Ohio State without 9.1 points and 28.8 minutes per game going into the CBS Sports Classic. Aaron Bradshaw is still questionable as the Buckeyes wait for his return to action from a long leave of absence, too.

Then there’s the crowd. Ohio State won’t have one. The Buckeyes host Tennessee in Columbia in the CFB Playoff on Saturday, so the only people wearing red in Madison Square Garden will be the players’ parents and Santa Claus in the concourse.

For those reasons and more, like Kentucky being the better team, the Wildcats will take care of Ohio State in the Big Apple, a city near and dear to the Popes and a homecoming game for Koby Brea, Otega Oweh, and Ansley Almonor. Brea and Oweh will lead Kentucky with a combined 40 points.

SCORE: Kentucky 86, Ohio State 73

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Adam Luckett

Ohio State is very much limping into this matchup against Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes have a first-year head coach, are dealing with some unexpected player absences, and are 0-4 against top-20 KenPom teams with three losses by at least 14 points.

But this team can shoot it.

Jake Diebler’s squad ranks No. 11 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (40.6%) and Kentucky is fresh off a performance where Louisville poured in 14 treys. Expect guards John Mobley (53.6% on 5.1 three-point attempts per game) and Bruce Thornton (48.7% on 3.5 attempts per game) to let the shot attempts fly from deep.

The long-distance shooting will keep Ohio State in it, but getting stops against Kentucky’s top-10 offense will be difficult. Mark Pope’s offense should generate plenty of good looks and could push for 100 points if the Cats have a good three-point shooting performance in Madison Square Garden.

Ohio State plays well but will not create enough stops to push for the win late. Kentucky beats a power conference team by double-digits for the first time this season.

SCORE: Kentucky 90, Ohio State 78

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Zack Geoghegan

As mentioned above, Ohio State is down bad right now. Losing Meechie Johnson hurts. Aaron Bradshaw playing in this one would certainly help the Buckeyes but he’s hardly a true difference-maker. Keeping John Mobley Jr. from cashing in several three-pointers will be critical. He doesn’t need any space to squeeze them off. Ohio State shoots a high percentage from deep but does not take many of them. The Buckeyes are 4-1 this season with 10 or more triples (the lone loss in overtime) and just 3-3 when under that mark. That’s an easy key to the game. OSU hasn’t made at least 10 threes since Nov. 29.

I like Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal a lot. They’re both incredibly solid players. Thornton is a stocky guard at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. Watching him and Butler/Oweh go at it should be entertaining basketball. Royal is listed at 6-foot-6 but slides down to play in the frontcourt. He can hold his own down there. But as a whole, Kentucky should have an overwhelming size advantage, even if Bradshaw is good to go. If Thornton and Mobley are held under five made three-pointers as a duo, UK will win handily.

Ohio State has been good at preventing the opposition from going off from beyond the arc. Kentucky has yet to rediscover its hot shooting start to begin the season. But regardless, the Wildcats should have a field day inside against the Buckeyes’ interior defense. I’m rocking with Mark’s Men in this one.

SCORE: Kentucky 81, Ohio State 71

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Jack Pilgrim

Mark Pope singled this game out as the one he was most looking forward to when he got the Kentucky job — who wouldn’t be excited for New York City and Madison Square Garden at Christmas? He got to spend his first night in the Big Apple at Hamilton, his favorite show in the world he almost certainly sang word for word in the audience. The first-year coach couldn’t be more ready for the CBS Sports Classic if he tried. Factor in the Cats finally finding their groove again from three against the Cards and the Buckeyes limping into this one with the status of two rotation pieces very much in doubt — one being Aaron Bradshaw — and there’s a lot going Kentucky’s way.

Ohio State is one of the best shooting teams in college basketball, but so is Kentucky when it’s humming while volume also favors the latter in a major way. Devin Royal is coming off a 31-point, 15-rebound performance vs. Valpo while Bruce Thornton has been a stable force in the backcourt with eight double-digit scoring efforts, plus John Mobley Jr. is a serious 3-point threat shooting 53.6 percent from deep on 5.1 attempts.

The issue? OSU is a poor rebounding (No. 203 nationally) and defensive (No. 128 scoring defense) team while also refusing to force turnovers (No. 258). As much as there is to love about the Buckeyes’ shooting, they don’t take enough of them (No. 222) to make up for their other flaws. And unfortunately for them, they play right into the Wildcats’ strength as a high-powered offensive team.

Give me the Cats in a feel-good win ahead of the holidays.

SCORE: Kentucky 93, Ohio State 73

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Tyler Thompson

I’ll admit that I haven’t spent much time watching Ohio State this season, but I did see that the Buckeyes lost to Auburn by 38 points. Whether that’s another sign that Auburn is really, really good this season or that Ohio State is just that bad remains to be seen. Not helping matters for the Buckeyes is the fact that they’re without Meechie Johnson, who led South Carolina to an upset over Kentucky in 2023 when he was with the Gamecocks, and potentially former Cat Aaron Bradshaw.

As others have said, Ohio State is a capable three-point shooting team, but the juice just feels like it will be on the Cats’ side for multiple reasons. Not only are the Buckeyes shorthanded, but Kentucky will certainly have the crowd advantage in Madison Square Garden as 99.8% of Ohio State fans focus on the football team’s playoff game vs. Tennessee that night. Add in the fact that this is a homecoming of sorts for three Wildcats (Otega Oweh, Koby Brea, and Ansley Almonor) and that Mark Pope has had this game circled on the schedule for sentimental reasons and it feels like we’re shaping up for another fun Saturday evening.

Kentucky has hit 10+ threes in its past two games, but I’m calling for even more in the World’s Most Famous Arena, several by Washington Heights’ own Koby Brea.

SCORE: Kentucky 89, Ohio State 75

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Nick Roush

Kentucky has only covered the spread once in the last six games, and that was the outright upset of Gonzaga. Even though the computer metrics would tell you that this is supposed to be a single-digit game, the Cats are due to blow someone out of the water.

However, it’s easy to fall into a pre-holiday break malaise coming off some enormous non-conference wins. That doesn’t mean Kentucky will fall behind, but they’ll probably let the Buckeyes hang around longer than they should, with a lead between the 7-12 points for the majority of the game.

Kentucky should be able to do what it wants inside. Amari Williams has been inconsistent. Saturday evening feels like the right time for him to figure it out near the rim with a nice 14-point, 12-rebound double-double en route to another Kentucky victory, a first for the Cats over the Buckeyes in more than a decade.

SCORE: Kentucky 88, Ohio State 73

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Kentucky vs. Ohio State: How to Watch, Listen

Kentucky vs. Ohio State is the second half of the CBS Sports Classic, which tips off with UCLA vs. North Carolina at 3:00 p.m. ET. Tipoff of the Cats vs. the Buckeyes is set for approximately 5:30 p.m.

• Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
• Television: CBS (Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery, Jenny Dell)
• Streaming: Paramount+
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 158 or 191
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tipoff, or join the conversation on KSBoard.