Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Buckeyes not boasting, but could
No. 5 Ohio State at 11-1 after topping Kentucky
The four teams assembled at T-Mobile Arena for Saturday’s college basketball doubleheader showcase had won a combined 26 NCAA Tournament championships.
Ohio State’s lone contribution to that total was a 1960 title, but the fifth-ranked Buckeyes appear the most likely from the group to cut down the nets this season after a 71-65 win over No. 6 Kentucky in the nightcap of the CBS Sports Classic.
North Carolina snapped a fourgame losing streak with a 74-64 win over UCLA in the opener.
The Bruins have the most NCAA Tournament titles of any school with 11, followed by Kentucky (8) and North Carolina (6).
Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann didn’t want to make too much of his team looking like the standout of the group, despite the win improving the Buckeyes to 11-1, a record that includes three victoriess over teams ranked in the top 10 at the time.
“I hesitate to talk about best team right now,” he said. “There’s a lot of season left to be played. We said after the Minnesota game (the lone loss), we’re trying to learn and move forward. Not one game defines us. Not one of those three wins defines us. It’s a long season. We’re just trying to get better. We’ll see if we can do that.”
Ohio State was able to get past the Wildcats despite star Kaleb Wesson being limited to only 23 minutes before fouling out. He went just 2 of 6 from the field, but finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
“I feel like (being 11-1 at Christmas) just shows we started out good,” Wesson said. “There’s a lot of the season left.”
It was a good sign they were able to win a neutral-court game that felt like a road game with the number of Kentucky fans that made the trip, despite the struggles of Wesson, the third-rated player in the nation in the KenPom player of the year rankings.
Freshman D.J. Carton led the Buckeyes with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Kyle Young added 10 points and six rebounds.
The Wildcats (8-3) never led in the second half, but did get within one point on several occasions. When Immanuel Quickley’s 3-pointer with 6:46 remaining cut Ohio State’s lead to 55-54, Carton answered immediately with a layup. Luther Muhammad followed with a jumper to give the Buckeyes some breathing room.
Holtmann said there has been a common theme to his team’s marquee wins this season.
“I think we played fearless in those games,” he said. “I think that’s important for your guys to play loose and fearless. Understand it’s not going to be perfect. You’ve got to have players that are gutsy enough to do that.”
Grad transfer Nate Sestina had 17 points in his second game back from injury to lead Kentucky, which also lost to Utah at T-Mobile Arena this week.
Armando Bacot had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the Tar Heels (7-5) snap their skid. North Carolina let a 13-point halftime lead evaporate during a 12-0 run by UCLA (7-5) to open the second half. But the Tar Heels immediately answered with a 21-10 run to pull away.
“It’s very exciting (to win again), trust me,” forward Garrison Brooks said. “It was a tough stretch for us, and we didn’t really plan on this at all, just losing four straight games. … It’s a good sign that we got back on the right track.”