Ohio State vs Kentucky Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/21/24

The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Saturday in college basketball action from Madison Square Garden. Here’s an Ohio State vs Kentucky prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best ** pick. We will examine:

The Ohio State Buckeyes recent form and player performance

The Kentucky Wildcats recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Ohio State Buckeyes

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Kentucky Wildcats

Recent betting trends in games played between Ohio State vs Kentucky

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Ohio State vs Kentucky game

Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Preview

The Buckeyes’ season began on a 5-1 run with wins over Texas, Youngstown State, Evansville, Campbell and Green Bay. Ohio State is 2-3 since then however, with losses versus Pittsburgh, Maryland, and Auburn during that quintet.

In their last outing versus Valparaiso, Ohio State got back into the win column. After a 41-30 first half, the Buckeyes cruised to a 95-73 win following a 54-43 second. Devin Royal’s 31 points and 15 rebounds paced the team.

Kentucky Wildcats Betting Preview

Over on the Kentucky side, they beat Wright State, Bucknell, Duke, Lipscomb, Jackson State, Western Kentucky and Georgia State before a loss to Clemson. The Wildcats have since beaten Gonzaga, Colgate and Louisville.

In the Louisville game, the Wildcats came into the second half with a six-point edge. Kentucky hit a 47-45 run the rest of the way for a 93-85 win. Tops in scoring was Lamont Butler with 33 points and six assists.

Why the Kentucky Wildcats will win

• Kentucky has won each of its last eight home games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Ohio State has lost five of its last six night games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Ohio State has lost the first half in six of its last seven night games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes will win

• Ohio State has won each of its last four night games against non-Conference opponents.
• Kentucky has lost three of its last four games against non-Conference opponents at Madison Square Garden.

Ohio State vs Kentucky Prediction

I’ll try Ohio State here. We should have a pretty great matchup regardless, though. The Buckeyes got a much-needed win over Valparaiso in their last outing, shooting a nice 54.1 percent from the field and 85.2 percent (23-of-27) from the line. Ohio State has been below 60 points in each of their two most recent losses, and below 65 points in three of four losses overall this season. It’s going to be very important for the Buckeyes to hit a good total here, and that starts with high-percentage shots.

As for Kentucky, they shot a blistering 58.2 percent from the field in the Louisville game but did miss 10 of 28 free throws (64.3 percent). The Wildcats have scored 77 or more points in every win so far this season (66 in the Clemson loss), so if Ohio State is going to cover here we’re probably looking at a decent-sized total as well.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Ohio State Buckeyes +6.5