It just wasn’t Kentucky’s night in New York City…

Saturday at Madison Square Garden, The no. 5 Wildcats (10-2) had their worst performance of the entire season in an ugly 85-65 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes (8-4). Kentucky’s offense was nowhere to be found, while its defense was just as bad – if not worse. Great Britain shot 29.8 percent from the field, making it close 17 total field goals that night (the previous season’s low was 24 against Clemson). On the other hand, Ohio State shot 57 percent as a team and encountered little resistance from the Wildcats’ defense, particularly on defense.

Had Kentucky not had a great performance from the free throw line (27-32), the outcome would have been much more lopsided. Otega Oweh was one of the only bright spots with 21 points, although most of that production came from the strip. Andrew Carr (12 points) and Jaxson Robinson (11) were the only other British players to reach double figures.

Bruce Thornton dismantled Kentucky all night long, scoring a game-high 30 points for Ohio State. UK was just 7:23 in layups. It felt like there was a lid on the basket no matter where the Cats were shooting from. There’s no other way to put it: it was an embarrassing performance Mark Pope‘Steam.

In what is becoming an unfortunate trend, the first half was once again slow for Kentucky. It was tight at the start, the Cats even had a small lead. But the offensive soon ran into a wall that was never torn down. Kentucky went over eight minutes without a field goal (9:00-0:47), giving Ohio State a double-digit lead. UK had to make a living at the free throw line (12-16 at halftime) to stay alive as the outside shots (2-11 from distance) weren’t falling.

It was a former Wildcat center Aaron Bradshaw Who also did the most damage to Ohio State? The sophomore scored nine points on 4-4 shooting in the first half as the Buckeyes shot up to 63 percent from the field. When it came to color, everything was easy to do. Meanwhile, the shooting rate in Great Britain was just 34.8 percent after 20 minutes. Lamont Butler Due to foul trouble, Kentucky played only 11 minutes as Kentucky trailed 39-30 at the break.

The start of the second half wouldn’t be any easier either. Ohio State immediately took a 15-point lead. However, Britain continued to lose value and put on a run that gave some hope. Oweh (11-for-11 from the field at the time) converted an and-one to make the game six points just five minutes into the half. But Kentucky’s defense couldn’t stop the nosebleed. The Buckeyes scored at will while the Cats couldn’t reach the ocean. With less than 10 minutes left, Ohio State had a 15-point lead again.

Kentucky’s free throws prevented Ohio State from claiming a blowout win, but this game was never really close in the second half. Every British goal (the few that went into the basket) was immediately countered. The Buckeyes had a lead of a dozen at the last media timeout. Kentucky officially had no more chances. The 20-point loss will be difficult to swallow with a 10-day break in play coming up.