The Kentucky Wildcats returned to New York City for the CBS Sports Classic, this time facing Ohio State in Madison Square Garden.

The Wildcats played far from their best game and fell to the unranked Buckeyes, 85-65.

Kentucky was held to just 34% shooting in the first half while allowing Ohio State to make 63% of their shots and considering those numbers, the Wildcats were actually fortunate to only trail 39-30 at the midway point.

As good coaches do, Mark Pope made adjustments in the second period that gave Kentucky several chances at climbing back into the game.

However, every time the Wildcats landed a blow, Ohio State had an answer themselves.

It’s a disappointing loss for Kentucky as they did not play well in any phase of the game. The Wildcats missed plenty of open shots around the rim and didn’t create much on the perimeter to get things going from outside.

Kentucky’s point total was their lowest of the season and is further evidence that if a team can knock the Wildcats out of their pass-heavy rhythm, it can really disrupt their ability to score.

On top of not scoring the ball efficiently, Kentucky either committed fouls or gave up open shots on way too many possessions. Their defense was simply not good. Ohio State has capable scorers, but Saturday night was a bit too easy for them to put points on the board.

Pope and his Wildcats will return to Lexington with a sure chance of dropping several spots in the top 25 rankings. They’re scheduled to face Brown on New Year’s Eve before Southeastern Conference play begins on January 4th vs. the Florida Gators.

Here’s a full box score, MVP, and Twitter reactions from the game.

Box Score

MVP

Despite Saturday night’s showing, Kentucky has been pretty good at shooting the basketball this season.

The Wildcats just couldn’t get anything flowing on offense against Ohio State, but that didn’t keep Otega Oweh from putting his head down and driving to the basket.

The junior guard is the team’s leading scorer on the season and held that title again on Saturday, putting up 21 on 4/13 shooting from the field but a perfect 13/13 from the free-throw line.

Even when Kentucky’s ball movement isn’t working as well as they’d like it to, Oweh still finds a way to put the ball in the basket.

His creativity and toughness will be exactly what Kentucky needs when SEC play begins.

Kentucky vs. Ohio State Twitter Reactions

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