Kentucky takes on Ohio State on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The No. 4 Wildcats have only one loss on the season, along with wins against Gonzaga and Duke, while Ohio State carries a 7-4 record into the game.
Here are takes on the game from Cats Illustrated staff writers.
Jeff Drummond: On paper, it seems like this matchup heavily favors Kentucky, but my hunch is we might see Ohio State’s best effort in this one. The Buckeyes are still smarting from getting run off the court by Auburn, and this might be viewed as an opportunity to save face against another elite SEC team, so the Cats have to show up with their A game at the Garden. Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr. is a dangerous backcourt tandem if you let them get going from the arc. The approach will be different from the Louisville game, when UK invited the Cards to take their chances from 3, and they splashed 14 of them. That would be a bad recipe against the Buckeyes. Offensively, UK should have an advantage with the bigs. I see a big game for one of those guys coming. Give me Amari Williams for MVP honors with a nice double-double. UK 90, OSU 79.
David Sisk: I personally see Ohio State as a fragile group. They do have a 7-4 record, but there is a 24 point loss to Maryland and a 38 point loss to Auburn. In the loss to Maryland they shot the ball poorly, and gave up 22 points off turnovers. They did much of the same thing against Auburn shooting under 40% in each game. The Tigers smashed them in the paint and on the boards, but of course they are a different animal. The Buckeyes do have a solid backcourt in Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr. But Kentucky will just keep coming at them with pace. I also expect a huge game from one of the Wildcat post players. My money is on Andrew Carr. Kentucky 84 Ohio State 73.
Justin Rowland: Ohio State hasn't fared well against the best teams on its schedule for the most part. They were dismantled by Auburn, handled by Texas A&M, and blown out on the road by Maryland. They've played better at home, but this game isn't at home. Kentucky's also better than all the teams the Buckeyes have looked good against this year. For those reasons, given the fact that Kentucky's players are undoubtedly excited about a game at MSG after a week off, I expect the Cats to be dialed in. If you go by KenPom, Kentucky and Ohio State have been pretty similar defensively. The Buckeyes haven't been bad on offense, but they haven't been nearly as elite as the Cats. Upsets can always happen, but nothing in the resumes of these two teams suggests Ohio State is likely to play at Kentucky's level for 40 minutes. Stranger things have happened, but I'll say Cats 88, Buckeyes 77.
