Ohio State vs. Kentucky Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Saturday, December 21

Reed Wallach | 4 Hours Ago

Dec 14, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Lamont Butler (1) smiles during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Ohio State and Kentucky meet at Madison Square Garden with the Wildcats looking to continue to build its impressive resume to start the season. 

The Wildcats offense has picked up quickly under first year head coach Mark Pope, and will look to push the tempo against a sputtering Ohio State team that has dropped three of the last five games. 

Here’s our betting preview for this neutral site showdown. 

Ohio State vs. Kentucky Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Ohio State: +6.5 (-110)
• Kentucky: -6.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Ohio State: +235
• Kentucky: -295

Total: 160.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Ohio State vs. Kentucky How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, December 21
• Game Time: 5:30 PM EST
• Venue: Madison Square Garden
• How to Watch (TV): CBS
• Ohio State Record: 7-4
• Kentucky Record: 10-1

Ohio State vs. Kentucky Key Players to Watch

Ohio State

Bruce Thornton: The guard has enjoyed a stellar season shooting the rock, hitting 48% of his 3s while facilitating the Ohio State offense with a 29% assist rate. The Buckeyes offense has been elite this season, mainly paced by its insane three-point shooting, and Thornton’s ability to shoot it and set the table has been a huge boost for them. 

Kentucky

Lamont Butler: Butler returned from a two-game absence against Louisville and didn’t miss a beat, hitting all six of his 3-point shots en route to a season high 33 points and six assists. The San Diego State transfer has been elite this season, averaging 15 points with three rebounds and four assists while shooting a blistering 60% from the field. 

Ohio State vs. Kentucky Prediction and Pick

Ohio State has been one of the more overrated teams to start the season, and we have already seen the team come back down to Earth. 

The Buckeyes are incredibly reliant on their 3-point shooting and defense, ranking top 25 in both 3-point percentage for and against. However, the team is going to run into a buzzsaw when it faces Kentucky. 

We saw the team struggle against Auburn, a fast-paced offense that can blitz opponents in a similar fashion to Kenutcky, 91-53, on a neutral floor last weekend. I believe Kentucky can get plenty of clean looks in this one as Ohio State’s defensive numbers are inflated due to poor shotmaking. 

However, Pope’s motion based offense should have little issue handing the Buckeyes some much needed regression as the team ranks 70th in ShotQuality’s defensive efficiency metric. Kentucky is 26th in effective field goal percentage while shooting more than 42% of its shots from beyond the arc. 

Ohio State can struggle to keep up with teams when it’s not on from three and opponents are missing at a high clip, which I don’t expect against a Kentucky defense that is elite at shutting down the perimeter, ranking top 15 in the country in three-point percentage. 

Lay it with the Wildcats at MSG. 

PICK: Kentucky -6.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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