The Buckeyes fared much better in their second neutral-site game against a top-five team in a week. They were blown out 91-57 by No. 2 Auburn on Dec. 14 in Atlanta.

After shooting 1 of 7 against Auburn, Thornton made 8 of 13 shots, including an off-balance jumper in the lane as the shot clock expired that put the Buckeyes up 64-51 with about 9 1/2 minutes left. He was 13 of 14 on free throws.

Takeaways

Ohio State: Bradshaw returned after missing six games while the school investigated a possible domestic incident at his off-campus apartment. Third-leading scorer Micah Parrish exited with a knee injury early in the second half.

Kentucky: Lamont Butler struggled after a scoring career-high 33 points last week against Louisville. He was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting before fouling out.

Key moment

Ohio State led 39-30 at halftime after outscoring Kentucky 19-9 over the final nine minutes and holding the Wildcats to one basket in that span.

Key stat

Kentucky struggled immensely near the basket, missing 16 of 23 layups.

Up next

Ohio State hosts Indiana State on Dec. 29. Kentucky hosts Brown on Dec. 31.