LEXINGTON — Everyone has heard of a “must-win game.” Well, Wednesday was a “can’t-lose contest” for Kentucky basketball.
After an emotional victory over Arkansas and ex-coach John Calipari, and with border-state nemesis Tennessee on tap Saturday, Wednesday’s matchup against lowly Oklahoma — owner of an eight-game losing streak — had all the makings of a dreaded trap game for UK. And for the better part of the first half, that’s exactly it was. The Wildcats and Sooners swapped the lead five times and had five ties until the hosts surged ahead for good thanks to a 3-pointer from Collin Chandler as the clock ticked under six minutes in the period.
It was a stress-free SEC victory from there, as UK rolled to a 94-78 win at Rupp Arena.
UK assistant coach Jason Hart, who took over postgame media responsibilities as head coach Mark Pope departed to pick up his daughter from the airport, admitted he was worried about the possibility of players getting caught looking ahead to Saturday’s tilt with UT.
“But I thought tonight, they came out and executed,” Hart said. “This team has been playing well — Oklahoma — although their record didn’t indicate it. Our guys stepped up and met the challenge.”
The 16-point triumph marked the seventh win for the Wildcats (16-7, 7-3 SEC) in their last eight games. Conversely, it extended the Sooners’ suffering. Losers of nine straight, Oklahoma (11-12, 1-9) hasn’t finished on the right side of the scoreboard in more than a month; its most recent win was in its conference opener Jan. 3, when it downed Ole Miss.
As the Wildcats seek to continue their rise up the NCAA Tournament seed line after dropping their first four Quad 1 affairs this season — and five of their first six — they’ve now gone 3-1 in their past four such outings.
Wednesday was not that.
Oklahoma was a Quad 3 opponent for Kentucky.
And as they should, the Wildcats were rude hosts to the team that resides at the bottom of the SEC standings.
For the second time in as many seasons, OU’s primary tormentor was one of its former players, Otega Oweh. He scored 28 points in the first meeting of 2024-25, then 27 in the second. In both, he lifted the Wildcats to a win on a buzzer-beating basket.
No such heroics were needed Wednesday.
But he still poured in 24 points for good measure — a game high on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-for-4 on 3s and 7-of-9 aim at the free-throw line.
Oweh has posted a double-digit point total in all 23 of Kentucky’s games this season. And he’s 56 for 59 in that endeavor in two seasons as a Wildcat.
“As coaches, you always want to nitpick, but he’s a bad dude,” Hart said, “Otega Oweh is a really good basketball player. He’s consistent. He’s our leader. And sometimes (I’m) in awe watching him.”
Chandler is equally mesmerized.
“I think that’s the best part about his game is how consistent he is every night,” Chandler said of Oweh. “You know what you’re going to get out of him. And, yeah, it’s a rarity for him to not get his (points). I think that’s the heart of a good team, is having somebody that you can lean on like that. So we’re blessed to play with him.”
Porter Moser once could say that.
No longer.
Oweh spent the first two seasons of his college career with Moser’s Oklahoma program before hitting the transfer portal. Now, Moser must sit idly by as the player who once suited up for him repeatedly tears the Sooners to shreds.
“I tell you, Otega is just … he’s an elite player,” said the increasingly embattled Moser, who fell to 85-71 overall (7-21 in regular-season SEC games) in his fifth season at OU. “Otega, he can knock down the shot. He puts you in a decision-making mode off ball screens, because he can turn the corner on you. And now he’s making really good decisions passing out of it.
“I just see he’s becoming a complete player.”
Perhaps if Moser had reached that conclusion — pardon the pun — sooner, he and his program wouldn’t be in their current predicament.
Oweh will just keep showing the way for Kentucky instead.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball beats Oklahoma, UK handles business in SEC game