Players to watch in Kentucky vs. Ohio State

The Wildcats look to continue their momentum Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

We’re really starting to see this Kentucky Wildcats team come into its own. Mark Pope has taken just 11 games to establish how he wants the Wildcats to be as a team.

And fans are buying in.

The possibilities feel endless already with Mark Pope. It’s amazing to see a roster assembled through the transfer portal already meshing at a high level on the court. Aside from a stumble at Clemson, Kentucky has passed every big test so far this season.

This Wildcats team has wins over Duke, Gonzaga and Louisville so far this season.

Saturday, the Wildcats head to Madison Square Garden to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CBS Sports Classic. It’s Kentucky’s last marquee non-conference game — they host Brown to close out non-conference play — before SEC play begins January 4th against Florida.

Ohio State enters this game with a record of 7-4, including 1-1 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have lost three of their last five games, including a 91-53 loss to Auburn last Saturday. But this is still a really good offensive Ohio State team.

Interestingly, the Wildcats have lost their previous two games against the Buckeyes. The last time Kentucky beat Ohio State was in the 2011 NCAA East Regional Semifinals in Newark, New Jersey, when Brandon Knight hit a game-winning jumper to oust the No. 1 overall seed Buckeyes.

That was John Calipari’s second season as the Wildcats head coach. Kentucky would advance to the Final Four that season, falling to the eventual National Champion UConn Huskies in the National Semifinals 56-55.

Here is who we’ll be watching for at MSG.

Players to Watch

1. #21 Devin Royal 6’6” 220 lbs. So. Forward Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington Central High School
15.6 pts, 7.9 rebs, 61.1 FG%, 4-19 3-PT FG, 73.5 FT%, 26.3 mpg

After averaging just 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds last year, Royal has nearly quadrupled his scoring average in leading the Buckeyes in points per game through their first 11 games this season. He’s coming off his best game of the season in the Buckeyes win over Valparaiso on Tuesday night, scoring 31 points and pulling down 15 rebounds while shooting 11-16 from the floor. Only three times this season has Royal shot below 50% in a game, and he has three 20-point games this season.

2. #2 Bruce Thornton 6’2” 215 lbs. Jr. Guard Fairburn, Ga.
14.8 pts, 2.7 rebs, 53% FG, 48.7 3-PT FG%, 79.2 FT%, 58 ast.-14 TO, 32.2 mpg

A member of the All-Big Ten Third Team last year, where he led the Buckeyes in scoring (15.7), assists (4.8), steals (1.2), and minutes (33.6), Thornton is off to a great start this season. Thornton is a great distributor and led the country last year with a 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. That includes having 40 assists to just five turnovers over the Buckeyes’ last five games last season, which were Big Ten and NIT Tournament games.

Thornton has four games this season with 20+ points and six games with 5+ assists. He’s also a really durable player, having played fewer than 30 minutes just three times this season. That includes playing all 45 minutes in an overtime loss to Pittsburgh this season.

3. #0 John Mobley Jr. 6’1’ 175 lbs. Fr. Guard Reynoldsburg, Ohio
12.1 pts, 1.3 rebs, 45.7 FG%, 53.6 3-PT FG%, 19-22 FT, 22.1 mpg

Ohio State’s leading three-point shooter, Mobley has seven games this season with three or more three-pointers. Mobley started his college career with six straight double-digit scoring games. He does have four of his last five games below double-digit points, but he’s still a player to watch for on Saturday late afternoon.

4. #8 Micah Parrish 6’6” 205 lbs. 5th-Year Guard Detroit San Diego State Transfer
10.5 pts, 4.7 rebs, 41.9 FG%, 32.6 3-PT FG%, 74.2 FT%, 13 stl, 28.6 mpg

A veteran of San Diego State’s two Sweet 16 teams the last two seasons, including the 2023 team that played for the National Championship, Parrish started 36 of San Diego State’s 37 games in 2024 and averaged 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Parrish has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games this season.

5. #13 Sean Stewart 6’9” 220 lbs. So. Forward Windermere, Fla. Duke Transfer
5.7 pts, 5.9 rebs, 48% FG, 0-1 3-PT FG, 9-16 FT, 17.6 mpg

Stewart played for Duke in his freshman season, where he broke Zion Williamson’s record for a standing vertical. Stewart’s standing vertical was 36 inches. On the court, Stewart averaged 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds and shot over 57 percent from the floor. Stewart was ranked No. 21 in the 2023 Class according to 247Sports and was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school. Stewart has two games in double-digit figures this season.

6. #12 Evan Mahaffey 6’6” 200 lbs. Jr. Guard Cincinnati Penn State Transfer
5.4 pts, 4 rebs/gm., 72.2 FG%, 0-1 3-PT FG, 7-17 FT, 14 blk, 21.4 mpg

Mahaffey was one of four players to appear in all 36 games last season for the Buckeyes. He’s coming off a season-high 15 points in Tuesday’s win over Valparaiso, and he has five games with 5+ rebounds.

Head Coach: Jake Diebler (1st season): After serving as Ohio State’s interim head coach for part of the second half of the 2024 season, Diebler was promoted to head coach before the Buckeyes’ run in the NIT Tournament. Diebler’s first game as the Buckeyes’ interim head coach was when the Buckeyes upset No. 2 Purdue last year.

Diebler has been with the Buckeyes since 2019, working his way up as an assistant and associate head coach before taking over for Chris Holtmann last year. He was previously with the Buckeyes from 2013-16 as their video coordinator, coaching players including Aaron Craft and D’Angelo Russell. Diebler has also been an assistant coach at Valparaiso and Vanderbilt under head coach Bryce Drew. He played at Valparaiso and ranks 10th all-time with 130 steals.

Bonus: Aaron Bradshaw: Former Kentucky forward Aaron Bradshaw could make his return this weekend after being away from the team for about a month due to an investigation into an alleged domestic incident. He’s now back with the team and working his way back into the mix after not being allowed to participate in team activities during the investigation.

Prior to that, Bradshaw played in four games, averaging 7.8 points (37.9% shooting), 5/8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 23.8 minutes per game. He traveled with the team to New York and could play Saturday. If he does, that could be an x-factor that gives Kentucky trouble in the paint.

Keys to the Game

1. Toughness: Ohio State has some good players that can make this game a slog. They play in the Big Ten, one of the most physical conferences in all of college basketball. It’s no secret that physicality has really bothered Kentucky this season, even against mid-major teams. The Wildcats will be in for a 40+ minute dog fight that will require them to show their mental toughness.

2. Avoid Rivalry Hangover: This is the first time the Wildcats have played since their win over Louisville last Saturday. It will be paramount for the Wildcats to show that the week off isn’t going to affect their play on the court, especially against an upset-minded Buckeyes team.

3. Play Kentucky Basketball: The Mark Pope era is off to a great start. The Cats are playing a fun brand of basketball in their first 11 games with Pope as their head coach. While it’s a fun brand, it can also stress an opponent for 40 minutes every game this season. It’s time for the Wildcats to end their losing streak to Ohio State and beat them for the first time since 2011.

Kentucky has played in a lot of marquee games so far this season, all of which came down to the final minutes. I think Ohio State hangs around for the first 30-35 minutes, but Kentucky will close it out with their bevy of weapons and closers down the stretch.

Score Prediction: Kentucky 83, Ohio State 74