Otega Oweh made himself at home against his former team on Wednesday night.
Oweh scored a career-high 28 points and hit a driving layup with six seconds left to lift No. 17 Kentucky to an 83-82 win over Oklahoma.
The Wildcats (19-9, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) overcame a hot-shooting effort by the Sooners in the second half to hand Oklahoma (17-11, 4-11) its sixth loss in the past seven games.
Oweh said the dramatic finish was “just hectic.”
“We were playing great offense but we had to get some stops,” he said. “We were just trying to win the game.”
Oweh’s best performance of his collegiate career came after he scored a season-low two points and fouled out in a 96-83 loss at No. 4 Alabama last Saturday. Oweh played the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky last summer.
He said the outing ranks as one of the top performances of his career.
“It's definitely up there,” he said. “Obviously I played here, so you know some emotion to it for sure, but I'm just glad we got the win. It was much-needed and we got that. So I'm I'm just excited (to get the win).”
The contest featured nine lead changes and eight ties in a close encounter, capped by Oweh’s layup and a block by Brandon Garrison’s block as time expired on the defensive end to preserve the victory.
Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson returned to the lineup after both players had missed the three previous games because of injuries. Butler (shoulder) finished with seven points, six assists, and four rebounds before fouling out. Robinson scored five of Kentucky’s first seven points before sitting out the entire second half.
Garrison followed Oweh with 12 points and added three blocks and three steals.
Oweh had just five points in the first half but stepped it up when his team needed it the most.
“I just wanted to start playing with some motor, some intensity,” he said. “I feel like in the first half I was kind of letting the game come to me — just letting everything play out.
“I wanted to be aggressive in the second half and just try to leave my imprint on defense and offense.”
Oweh praised his teammates, who have overcome adversity during the past month and made adjustments with Butler and Robinson out of the lineup.
“We just go hard and that's what it is,” he said. “A lot of guys had to step up and grow into a role and grow earlier than they were supposed to be.
“I feel like there's a lot of guys who stepped up — the next man mentality. That's what it was. But it's great to have them out there.”
Gametracker: Auburn at Kentucky, 12 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network SuperTalk 94.3 WKYX, WiLLiE 102.
Kentucky guard Otega Oweh (00) celebrates after making a shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)
