Coach John Calipari put fans on notice earlier in the week that the Ohio Bobcats would be a tough “tune-up” game for his No. 13th ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
But nobody expected Oscar Tshiebwe to pick up two early fouls in the opening minute, missing the rest of the half, to set the stage for an early 11-4 Ohio lead before the Wildcats battled back with a big second half to win 77-59 on Friday night at Rupp Arena.
Keion Brooks led the Wildcats with 22 points, while TyTy Washington added 20. Davion Mintz and Sahvir Wheeler added 12 and 11 points, respectively.