Ohio State, off to a rocky 5-5 start to the season, scored a massive 74-67 upset victory over No. 4 Kentucky as part of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn.
The highly ranked Wildcats shot just 30.6 percent in a first half short on offense. The Buckeyes led 37-25 at the break, thanks in part to a 22-11 run over an eight-and-a-half-minute stretch during which Ohio State hit eight straight shots, four of which were 3-pointers. That run gave the Buckeyes a 31-19 lead, and the score stayed there for four scoreless minutes. Ohio State hit seven 3s in the first half compared to just one for Kentucky. Both teams turned the ball over seven times in the opening half, but the Buckeyes turned those into 11 points, while the Wildcats scored just six.
Ohio State hit its biggest lead of the game at 16 in the second half, but Kentucky made its push, closing the gap to just three points with a little more than four minutes to play. But the Buckeyes hit seven free throws down the stretch to hold off the Wildcats and earn the upset.
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Keita Bates-Diop finished with a team-high 14 points, also grabbing seven rebounds and coming away with a trio of steals. Marc Loving had 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. JaQuan Lyle scored 11 points, and Trevor Thompson had 10 points.
The Buckeyes finished with nine made 3s, matching a season high.
It was Ohio State's first win over perennial power Kentucky since 1987, when the Buckeyes beat the Wildcats in the NCAA tournament. The previous time these two played, Ohio State was the No. 1 team in the country and lost back in 2011. This was just Ohio State's sixth win all-time against a top-four opponent.
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The win sent the Buckeyes to 6-5 on the season. They have two non-conference games remaining against Mercer and South Carolina State prior to the beginning of Big Ten play.