Ohio State basketball tries to bounce back vs. UCLA

It was a good start to the season for the Ohio State basketball team. Before taking on Penn State last weekend, they had won their last seven games. They had impressive games against Alabama and Santa Clara, as well as beating Minnesota in their first Big Ten game of the year.

Unfortunately, they blew an 18-point lead to the Nittany Lions last weekend. It was an embarrassing loss. that saw them give up 54 points in the second half. The Buckeyes also had twice as many turnovers as Penn State. That can't happen against a team as bad as Penn State.

Today, the Buckeyes try to get that bad taste out of their mouth against UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. It's a neutral-site game that would be a nice resume booster for the Buckeyes, even though the Bruins haven't been that impressive this year.

UCLA comes into this game just 5-3, having lost to all three of the good teams they've played so far this year. At the same time, those losses game by a combined 15 points. They've been very competitive with these good teams, so Ohio State can't take them lightly.

Prediction: Ohio State basketball 76 UCLA 71

I think the Buckeyes will have just enough offense to win this game. Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle have been excellent so far this year. If the Buckeyes can take care of the ball and not turn it over 14+ times, I think they should win the game. It's the turnovers that killed them against the Nittany Lions.

Next year, this game will be a conference game. This is the last time these two will meet as non-conference foes unless they meet in the NCAA Tournament. The game is on today at 3 pm ET on CBS and can also be found on the CBS Sports App and Paramount +.