Text Machine is blowing up with takes

12/21/2024 07:44:02 PM

A 20-point loss to Ohio State, which lost to Auburn by 38, has the text machine lighting up.

FINAL: Ohio State 85, Kentucky 65

12/21/2024 07:18:23 PM

It’s over. Kentucky picks up its second loss of the season, losing to Ohio State by 20 to fall to 10-2. Nothing was working for the Cats, who finished the game shooting 29.8% from the floor (17-57) and 18.2% (4-22) from three. The three-point shooting was bad, but Kentucky was especially inefficient inside, only making 7-23 layups. All while allowing Ohio State to score 85 points on 56.6% shooting. It was an embarrassing performance all around.

Otega Oweh led the Cats with 21 pints, followed by Andrew Carr with 12 and Jaxson Robinson with 11. They were the only Kentucky players to finish in double figures.

Ohio State is currently No. 32 in the NET Rankings, which makes this a Quad 1 loss. If the Buckeyes fall below No. 50, it’ll drop to Quad 2. The Cats have 10 days off before hosting Brown on New Year’s Eve.

Score Update: 1:43 2H – Ohio State 79, Kentucky 61

12/21/2024 07:11:10 PM

Lamont Butler fouled out and the lead is now 18. Travis Perry just checked in.

Text Machine sums it up

12/21/2024 07:09:30 PM

Reminder, you can share your thoughts with us by sending a text to the Text Machine at 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).

Score Update: 3:30 2H – Ohio State 73, Kentucky 61

12/21/2024 07:02:49 PM

Cats are down 12 and haven’t hit a field goal in over three and a half minutes. That’s also how much is left in the game.

Miracle aside, it’s looking more and more like the Cats will drop to 10-2 on the season. With ten days off, they’ll have plenty of time to study the tape and regroup before hosting Brown and starting SEC play. Bad nights happen, but they need it. This has been rough.

The stat of the night

12/21/2024 06:58:50 PM

Nothing is working for Kentucky offensively. The Cats are 4-19 from three, yes, but even more telling is what’s happening in the paint. Kentucky is 5-20 on layups so far. It feels like the Cats’ only points are coming from the free-throw line, where they are 27-32.

Ohio State 70, Kentucky 61, 4:09 to go

Amari Williams cuts the lead to single digits

12/21/2024 06:55:24 PM

Two free throws by Amari Williams have Ohio State’s lead down to nine, 68-59, with 6:15 to go. The Cats not only need stops, they need buckets…

Jaxson Robinson breaks the drought

12/21/2024 06:47:47 PM

A Jaxson Robinson three broke Kentucky’s scoring drought but the Cats’ previous possession summed up the game. Kentucky came up empty-handed after missing four shots. I hope they prove me wrong, but it just doesn’t feel like their night.

Ohio State 66, Kentucky 54 with 7:46 remaining.

Score Update: 9:31 2H – Ohio State 64, Kentucky 51

12/21/2024 06:45:22 PM

Kentucky’s in another scoring drought, going 2:33 without a bucket and making only one of their last seven. The lead is back up to 13 with 9:31 to go. Otega Oweh is trying to do it all himself, with 13 second-half points, but the Cats need more if they have any chance of coming back in this one.

Score Update: 11:45 2H – Ohio State 59, Kentucky 51

12/21/2024 06:38:40 PM

A bucket by Otega Oweh and two free throws by Lamont Butler have trimmed Ohio State’s lead to eight, 59-51, with 11:45 to go, but Ohio State’s Devin Royal is about to head to the free throw line after a foul by Ansley Almonor.

Score Update: 12:59 2H – Ohio State 59, Kentucky 47

12/21/2024 06:39:36 PM

Just like that, Ohio State’s lead is up to 14. Not only are the Cats still allowing the Buckeyes to get to the basket, they’re not finishing at the rim themselves, Jaxson Robinson’s latest miss being the most recent example. Ugh.

Koby Brea and Otega Oweh bring the crowd to life

12/21/2024 06:27:33 PM

A three by Koby Brea and a three-point play by Otega Oweh have the lead down to six and Kentucky fans at Madison Square Garden are on their feet chanting “GO BIG BLUE.” No better sound in the world right now. Timeout Ohio State.

Ohio State 51, Kentucky 45 with 14:20 to go…

Score Update: 15:37 2H – Ohio State 51, Kentucky 39

12/21/2024 06:23:09 PM

Lamont Butler just missed a three, bringing Kentucky’s total beyond the arc to 2-13 so far. The Cats aren’t much better elsewhere on the floor, with just 10 made field goals on 32 attempts.

Kentucky is going back to the 1-3-1 zone

12/21/2024 06:19:24 PM

Kentucky used a 1-3-1 zone to claw back from a 16-point halftime deficit vs. Gonzaga. They’re using it again tonight. A three-point play by Andrew Carr has the lead down to 10, 49-39, with 16 minutes to go.

Score Update: 17:38 2H – Ohio State 45, Kentucky 33

12/21/2024 06:16:38 PM

Aaron Bradshaw is up to 11 points on 5-5 shooting. Kentucky has no answer for him right now. The Buckeyes bumped its lead up to 15 points before Oweh converted on the other end. Not the best start to the second half…

Another slow start…

12/21/2024 06:12:15 PM

This feels like an unfortunate trend as of late for the ‘Cats. Slow starts continue to hurt Kentucky and this first-half performance was one of the worst we’ve seen so far this season. UK isn’t defending the paint, can’t score on the other end, and is letting Aaron Bradshaw look like a star. The good news? We’ve seen this story before. What halftime adjustments will Pope bring into the final 20 minutes? We’ll have to hope it’s Gonzaga-esque.

HALF: Ohio State 39, Kentucky 30

12/21/2024 05:55:45 PM

The worst half of the season comes to an end with a Jaxson Robinson airball. The Cats trail the Buckeyes 39-30. Kentucky is shooting only 34.8% from the floor and an abysmal 18.2% from three.

Hopefully what’s going on in the locker room right now will be shown on the next installment of The Journey after another comeback.

Score Update: 37.3 1H – Ohio State 37, Kentucky 30

12/21/2024 05:53:03 PM

Amari Williams broke Kentucky’s 8:13 scoring drought with a dunk, which also cut Ohio State’s lead back to seven. The Buckeyes called a timeout with 37.3 seconds to go in the half.

Andrew Carr gets Ohio State’s lead back to single digits.

12/21/2024 05:51:14 PM

Ohio State led by 10 but Andrew Carr got it back to single digits with three free throws after being fouled by Aaron Bradshaw on a three-point attempt at the shot clock buzzer. Kentucky is going on 7:30 without a field goal.

Ohio State 35, Kentucky 28, 1:39 left in the half

Ohio State leads by 7 and Mark Pope calls a timeout

12/21/2024 05:41:15 PM

It’s gone from bad to worse. A dunk by Ohio State’s Evan Mahaffey capped off an 8-0 run by the Buckeyes, who now lead by seven, 28-21, with 4:26 to go. Ohio State has 18 points in the paint to Kentucky’s 8. The Cats haven’t scored in over four minutes and don’t seem to have any answer for the Buckeyes’ ball screens.

Lamont Butler picks up his second foul

12/21/2024 05:38:56 PM

Here’s some not great news: Lamont Butler just picked up an offensive foul, his second foul of the game. He’ll head to the bench with 6:14 to go in the half. Ohio State leads by three, 24-21.

Score Update: 7:32 1H – Ohio State 22, Kentucky 21

12/21/2024 05:33:28 PM

At the under-eight timeout, Ohio State leads by one, 22-21. The Cats can’t seem to find the bottom of the basket, both from the floor (7-15 FG, 2-7 3PT) and free-throw line (5-9). Two of those three-point misses were airballs. Meanwhile, Aaron Bradshaw is up to six points, his most recent bucket putting the Buckeyes back on top.

Tied at 16

12/21/2024 05:23:26 PM

With 11:36 to go, Kentucky and Ohio State are tied at 16. Koby Brea’s first three of the night tied it up. Hopefully, that’s the first of many because the Cats are struggling. Ohio State is having no issues getting to the basket and once there, scoring, with eight points in the paint to Kentucky’s three. The Buckeyes are also outrebounding the Cats 7-4.

Travis Perry checks in for Lamont Butler

12/21/2024 05:17:43 PM

Lamont Butler just picked up his first foul of the game (he’s been on Mobley like glue), so Travis Perry is in to give him a breather. Let’s see what the Kentucky kid can do under the bright lights in NYC.

Score Update: 15:36 1H – Kentucky 8, Ohio State 7

12/21/2024 05:12:30 PM

At the first media timeout, Kentucky leads Ohio State 8-7. The Buckeyes got on the board first with a deep three by John Mobley Jr. A free throw and one-handed slam by Andrew Carr tied it up at three. Jaxson Robinson hit a three and Lamont Butler has two points. Amari Williams has not scored but has two big assists so far.

On the other end, Aaron Bradshaw is playing and has four points so far. There were some audible boos when he checked in.

Usual starting five

12/21/2024 04:52:59 PM

Kentucky is rolling out the usual starting five for today’s game:

01 Lamont Butler
00 Otega Oweh
02 Jaxson Robinson
07 Andrew Carr
22 Amari Williams

Today’s officials…

12/21/2024 04:50:24 PM

Get ready for the Doug Shows Show! Shows is officiating today’s game alongside Brian Dorsey and Patrick Evans.

Tipoff set for 6:05 p.m. ET

12/21/2024 04:44:13 PM

Jack Pilgrim is on the scene at Madison Square Garden, where the Cats are about to take the floor. They look ready.

North Carolina comes back to beat UCLA

12/21/2024 04:34:09 PM

Wowzas. If you’ve got your TV on CBS, you just saw North Carolina beat No. 18 UCLA in the first game of the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels trailed by 16 points with 12:50 to go but stormed back to win it in the final seconds. Kudos to North Carolina, but what a collapse by the Bruins, who made some huge errors down the stretch. The Tar Heels held the Bruins without a field goal for the final 3:42.

Now, we wait for Kentucky vs. Ohio State, which will tip in approximately 30 minutes.

Kentucky’s first game with the Wilson Evo NXT ball

12/21/2024 04:25:07 PM

If you follow our videographer Steven Peake, you’ve heard him rant about the Wilson Evo NXT ball. It’s the official ball of the NCAA Tournament but is rarely used at any other point in the season. The CBS Sports Classic must be a fan because they’re using it today. The ball is lighter and has more grip than other brands, which has been attributed to low scores and serious shooting droughts during the tournament. We’ll see if it impacts the Cats tonight.

Learn more about the ball below:

North Carolina’s hanging around with UCLA

12/21/2024 04:03:37 PM

Today’s game will take place after UCLA vs. North Carolina wraps. The Bruins led the Tar Heels by 16 at the 12:50 mark, but UNC clawed back to make it a five-point game with about seven minutes to go. Let’s hope this doesn’t stay close and push tipoff back.

Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Television: CBS (Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery, Jenny Dell)
Streaming: Paramount+
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 158 or 191
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Kentucky will wear blue today

12/21/2024 03:44:03 PM

The Cats will be the away team today, so they’ll sport the blue uniforms for the third time this season. They also rocked Kentucky blue at Clemson and vs. Gonzaga in Seattle.

The Cats are in the building

12/21/2024 03:36:39 PM

Kentucky has arrived at Madison Square Garden, with Mark Pope sporting a suit with a blue and white tie. You may recall that earlier this season, Pope told reporters that the staff will wear suits at Rupp and quarter zips on the road and at neutral site games. The CBS Sports Classic is an exception since it takes place at the Garden. Not only is it the World’s Most Famous Arena, it also holds sentimental value to Pope, who spent part of his childhood in nearby Westchester County and played at MSG as a Kentucky Wildcat and a New York Knick. As Pope said, his wife Lee Anne would never let him walk into Madison Square Garden to coach a game in anything but a suit.

Clearly, Andrew Carr has no problem wearing pajama pants to the Garden.

Aaron Bradshaw expected to play

12/21/2024 03:33:56 PM

It’s been over a month since Aaron Bradshaw has played for Ohio State, but the former Cat is expected to return to action today, according to Jeff Goodman. Before being sidelined, Bradshaw averaged 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games for the Buckeyes.