Kentucky left Las Vegas empty-handed.
No. 5 Ohio State took control midway through the first half and never let go, handing the sixth-ranked Wildcats their second-straight loss. It’s only the second time a John Calipari team has lost consecutive games in December. Kentucky has now lost to the Buckeyes in back-to-back CBS Sports Classic meetings.
A sloppy start by both teams, when the dust settled from the blowing whistles Kentucky had an early lead. The tide turned when D.J. Carton made a layup with 8:30 to go in the first half. Kentucky never retook the lead.
Nate Sestina provided a spark for the Wildcats off the bench, scoring a career-high 17 points on five made three-pointers.