Ohio St Buckeyes vs. Kentucky Wildcats Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024

Preview and Prediction

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope faces a bit of a predicament leading up to the showdown between his fourth-ranked Wildcats and Ohio State on Saturday, as part of the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

As much as he would like to give guard Lamont Butler more time to heal from an ankle injury, especially with their next game not until December 31st, Pope was impressed with Butler's performance against Louisville last Saturday in his return from missing two games.

Butler had a career-high 33 points and six assists in the Wildcats' 93-85 victory.

"LaMont's ankle is a tricky situation because part of me wants to ensure it's fully healed," Pope stated on Wednesday. "But then there's a part of me that's unsure if I want him to be completely healthy. He played exceptionally well in that Louisville game.

"I believe he's fully recovered now. Hopefully, we can move forward from that."

Butler went a perfect 10-for-10 from the field, including 6-for-6 from beyond the arc. Only two players in program history Rodney Dent in 1993 and Kenny Walker in 1986 have made more shots without a miss.

"He did an incredible job taking advantage of the defense's weaknesses," Pope praised.

Ohio State (7-4) also had a standout performance from forward Devin Royal, who set career highs in points (31) and rebounds (15) in their 95-73 win over Valparaiso on Tuesday.

He became the first Ohio State player to record a 30-point, 15-rebound double-double since Jared Sullinger in 2010.

"My teammates did a great job of getting me open," Royal acknowledged. "They were focusing on our guards, which gave me more opportunities to score.

"I've been working hard and staying in the gym. My teammates push me to improve every day. My coaches tell me to go out there and play my game."

Royal will need to continue his stellar play for the short-handed Buckeyes, who recently announced that starting guard Meechie Johnson Jr. has left the team to attend to personal matters, with no set return date. Johnson was averaging 9.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Guards Ques Glover and Colin White are also dealing with ankle injuries and have missed their eighth and fifth consecutive games, respectively. Their availability for Saturday's game is uncertain.

In addition, forward Aaron Bradshaw, who transferred from Kentucky after one season, is expected to sit out his eighth straight game. He was allowed to resume team activities last week after an investigation into an alleged domestic incident at his off-campus apartment, but Ohio State coach Jake Diebler stated that Bradshaw is not physically ready to return.

"He wasn't ready to play on Tuesday," Diebler said. "This is an ongoing evaluation. ... We're taking it one day at a time."

Pope acknowledged that the Buckeyes will be a tough opponent, despite their recent lopsided losses of 83-59 to Maryland on December 4th and 91-53 to No. 2 Auburn last Saturday.

"They've had some great successes and a couple of games they'd probably like to have back like all of us, right?" Pope commented. "It's going to be a really good challenge against a team that will only continue to improve. It's going to be an exciting clash at Madison Square Garden for Christmas. This is what we live for."

PREDICTION

Ohio St Buckeyes

Kentucky Wildcats