Kentucky Wildcats vs Ohio State Buckeyes Matchup

Read on to get betting odds and analysis in our Ohio State vs Kentucky NCAA Basketball prediction and preview and see who we think will win and cover the spread in New York.

Ohio State vs Kentucky Prediction

The Buckeyes and Wildcats are set to face off at 5:30 ET on CBS. The Wildcats will host the game at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. The odds for this non-conference game currently have Kentucky as the -8.5 favorite, with the over/under line sitting at 160.5 points.

Ohio State vs. Kentucky Matchup At A Glance

Sport: NCAAB
Teams: Ohio State Buckeyes at Kentucky Wildcats
Where: New York at Madison Square Garden
Date: Saturday, December 21st
Betting Odds UK -8.5, OHIOST +266 | UK -345 O/U 160.5

Buckeyes Preview: Will the Buckeyes Find a Way to Win in New York?

Ohio State improved to 7-4 on the season with a 95-73 win over Valparaiso on Tuesday. The Buckeyes, who were -21 point favorites, covered the spread in this home game.

Leading 41-30 at halftime, Ohio State scored 54 points in the 2nd half while allowing 43. The game’s total points of 168 exceeded the over/under line of 149.5.

Buckeyes Offense Breakdown

Ohio State put up 95 points in their last game, shooting 54.1% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 59%. They connected on 64.3% of their two-point attempts, while hitting just 31.6% from beyond the arc. At the free-throw line, the Buckeyes were impressive, converting 85.2% of their attempts.

Devin Royal led the way with 31 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 68.8% from the field. All Wright added 22 points, and Bruce Thornton contributed 14 points and 6 assists. Evan Mahaffey was perfect from the field, going 6-for-6.

Buckeyes Team Defense

Ohio State's defense struggled in their last game, giving up 73 points on 54% shooting from the field. The Buckeyes allowed 27 two-point field goals on 42 attempts, a 64% shooting rate.

From beyond the arc, Ohio State's defense held their opponent to 31% shooting, with 6 made threes on 19 attempts. They also sent their opponent to the free-throw line 27 times, where they converted 23 free throws for 85%.

Wildcats Preview: Is A Home Victory Likely for Favored Kentucky?

On Saturday, December 14th, the Wildcats improved to 10-1 with a 93-85 win over the Cardinals. Playing at home, Kentucky was favored by 9.5 points but didn’t cover the spread.

Kentucky led 46-40 at halftime and scored 47 points in the 2nd half while allowing 45. The combined points for the game reached 178, surpassing the O/U line of 160.

Wildcats Offense Breakdown

Kentucky's offense was firing on all cylinders in their last game, scoring 93 points with a field goal percentage of 58.2% and an effective field goal percentage of 69.1%. They shot 61.8% from two-point range and 52.4% from beyond the arc, hitting 11 threes. The Wildcats also dished out 23 assists.

Lamont Butler was perfect from the field, going 10-for-10 overall and 6-for-6 from three, finishing with 33 points and 6 assists. Chucky Hepburn added 26 points, while Terrence Edwards Jr. contributed 23 points, hitting 5 of 7 from deep.

Wildcats Team Defense

Despite Kentucky's defensive efforts, they gave up 85 points, allowing their opponent to shoot 58% from the field. The Wildcats struggled to contain two-point shots, with their opponent hitting 61% of those attempts.

From beyond the arc, Kentucky's defense couldn't slow down the three-point shooting, as their opponent connected on 52% of their threes. They also sent them to the free-throw line 28 times, where they made 18 free throws.

Buckeyes vs Wildcats Betting Odds, Trends & Analysis

Across the Buckeyes last five road games, the team averaged 66 points per game while allowing 80. Their record vs the spread in these contests was 2-3, while going 1-4 straight-up.
Although Kentucky has a straight up record of 6-4 in their last ten home games, they have not held up as well vs the spread going 5-5. The team averaged 78 points per game in these games.
The last ten games that Ohio State was the underdog, they have an ATS mark of 6-4 while going 3-7 straight up.
Through their last three matchups as the betting favorite, the Wildcats have a good straight up record, but their ATS mark is just 0-3.