Kentucky has a shot at redemption on Saturday in Las Vegas when it takes on No. 5 Ohio State.
Can the 'Cats rebound from a bad loss to Utah with another resume-boosting win against a Big Ten program?
Travis Graf: Ohio State 72, Kentucky 65. This game will feature two teams at opposite ends of the shooting spectrum. Kentucky has struggled mightily to find any rhythm from the outside and the Buckeyes are very efficient from behind the arc. Ohio State ranks 6th in the country at 41.6% from three. The Wildcats shoot 27.5% from long-range, ranking 334th nationally. Kentucky also allows their opponents to shoot 30.5% from behind the arc, so their perimeter defense isn’t that great, either. I think Kentucky struggles to contain both Kaleb Wesson and all of the Buckeyes’ three-point shooters, leading to a long day on the defensive end of the court. Kentucky’s bread and butter is paint scoring and Ohio State ranks 3rd nationally in two-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot only 37.8% from inside the arc.
David Sisk: I'm completely torn here. Both teams have had dismal showings and devastating losses within the past week. I expect Kentucky to come out more energized against Ohio State, and they better or it will be a long afternoon. The Buckeyes have looked dominant at times, but they were without their leading perimeter scorer Duane Washington Jr. at Minnesota, and it showed. They are a different team with him,and we don't know what his status is for Saturday. We definitely saw the Gopher guards dominate, but they made outside shots which opened up the drive. I think Kentucky will have to do the same thing. OSU is bigger inside with Kaleb Wesson. I think he will push Kentucky's bigs around, but if he gets in foul trouble they get smaller. There are a lot of variables waiting to be seen in this one. If you stuck a gun to my head, I would say Buckeyes.
Jeff Drummond: It’s funny to look back on when the 2019-20 UK schedule was announced and how virtually none of us were talking about this Ohio State matchup at all. It just seemed like another game, almost lumped in with the Fairleigh Dickinsons of the world. Fast-forward several months, and it has become one of the most challenging games the Cats may play all season. Coming off a loss to Utah in which UK looked nothing like a ranked team — let alone No. 6 in the country — Big Blue Nation is down and out right now. Doom and gloom reigns on the message boards and radio airwaves. It’s been my experience in covering this program for more than 20 years that this is when the Cats typically bounce back and play really well. I don’t know if they’re good enough to beat Ohio State, but I would almost guarantee a highly competitive game that restores the fans’ faith in UK’s chances to eventually develop into a strong contender. Kentucky 71, Ohio State 67.
Justin Rowland: Based on how these two teams have played this season there's really no reason for me to pick Kentucky, but during the Utah game I had this sense that the Wildcats would not play so poorly two games in a row. Usually when Kentucky has its back against the wall, under John Calipari, it responds. This is a team that has come under a lot of criticism and I think they'll rally and play one of their best games of the season. Ohio State has looked dominant at times this season, but these wins against Penn State, North Carolina, and Cincinnati may not look as impressive at the end of the season. Kentucky 69, Ohio State 68.
