Ohio State vs UCLA: 2023-24 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
Both Ohio State and UCLA are coming off losses from the last weekend. Which of them will bounce back in the CBS Sports Classic?
TV schedule: Saturday, December 16th, 3:00 pm ET, CBS
Arena: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
The CBS Sports Classic features four notable NCAA Basketball in a compelling double-headed each year. And while the headline game is Kentucky vs North Carolina, this battle is also going to be interesting as well. Coach Mick Cronin made some national headlines for his reaction to his team’s loss last weekend against Villanova, losing 65-56.
UCLA (5-3) got 14 pts from guard Lazar Stefanovic on 5/19 shooting, along with 11 pts and 8 rebs from Adem Bona. Sebastian Mack, who leads the team in scoring on the season, only had six points in the game. This is a young team whose international core hasn’t produced as much as expected, which explains the Pac-12 program’s current struggles.
Their opponent is Ohio State (8-2, 1-1), who had a 7-game win streak before its last game against Penn State. They were up by as many as 18 points before a second-half meltdown, falling in the end, 83-80. Bruce Thornton led the team with 17 pts, while Zed Key had a double-double (12 pts, 11 rebs) off the bench.
On the season, the Buckeyes have four double-digit scorers, led by Thornton with 18.5 ppg. Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle had given them an impact at 14.3 ppg and 3.8 apg on the wings but the Penn State letdown, along with giving up 81 pts to Alabama, shows that the defense could be a long-term issue for this team.
Next. Latest top-25 power rankings. dark
But can UCLA expose that? Unless Stefanovic and Mack can have big scoring games, the Bruins’ offense overall leaves a lot of be desired. And it could take a while for freshmen such as Aday Mara and Jan Vide to get going. For this game, I have a feeling that the Buckeyes will bounce back in a convincing way.
Prediction: Ohio State 75, UCLA 61