JUSTIN ROWLAND:

I'm convinced that most of Calipari's other Kentucky teams would not have been able to respond with as much maturity or competitiveness compared to what we saw tonight. That's the impact of having a mature team for once. I can't say enough good things about what kind of guy Davion Mintz must be to accept such a downsized role. He just might be playing himself into a much bigger role. The backcourt is too good, and they play too hard for this team not to be ranked pretty high. Those two things will take you a long way. The way the team responded to Oscar Tshiebwe being out and still outrebounding Ohio by about 15 in the first half was very impressive. I think Ohio would probably shoot better most nights but Kentucky guarded very hard. Good win for the Cats.

TRAVIS GRAF:

That was a fantastic game for Kentucky in hindsight. Early in the game, everything that could possibly go wrong for Kentucky went wrong. With Oscar in foul trouble very early and Wheeler getting two late in the half, UK still managed to lead by two at the half. Keion Brooks was fantastic in catch and shoot looks, TyTy Washington looked like we all thought he would entering the season, Mintz did some great things, and Hopkins gave some big minutes. Kentucky only hit three 3-pointers all game and still pulled out a runaway win against a veteran, NCAA Tournament-level team.

DAVID SISK:

This was a good blue-collar win for Kentucky. Ohio is a good team, and their ability to stretch the floor and shoot, especially with their bigs cause problems. But it was a tale of two segments. Kentucky gave up 38 points in the first 17 minutes and just 21 after that. They outrebounded Ohio 53-17, and really defended in the second half. It may have looked like a small ball win, but they did their damage with Oscar Tshiebwe on the floor. He did a nice job of adjusting. It also looked like their most effective perimeter trio was Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, and Davion Mintz on both ends. Washington and Keion Brooks also combined for 42 points in a game in which Tshiebwe and Kellan Grady did not score.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

This was a gut-check type of win against a really solid Ohio squad that has a good shot to be back in the NCAA Tournament again at the end of the season. That first half could not have gone much worse for the Cats. Oscar picked up two fouls in the first 65 seconds; he and Kellen Grady went scoreless; Sahvir Wheeler did not dish out an assist; and somehow, against the odds, Kentucky took a 40-38 lead into the half. A real team effort. Keion Brooks was fantastic with his mid-range jumpshot. Bryce Hopkins came up huge with both of UK's bigs saddled with foul trouble. His seven points and seven rebounds in the first half allowed the Cats to hang in there and survive Ohio's best punches. From there, we saw TyTy Washington display some of that elite prospect "dawg" for the first time this season, and Davion Mintz give the Cats some great play off the bench on a night when Kellan Grady struggled to get into the flow. A lot of really good things happened in this one that will help this team grow.