Kentucky guard Otega Oweh isn’t treating his return to Norman, Okla., any different on Wednesday night.
’I’m just treating it like every other game, really," Oweh said Tuesday. “It’s another game that we have to win. I’m just looking at it like that.”
While Oweh will be familiar with his surroundings, the contest will mark Kentucky’s first game against the Sooners in Norman. The Wildcats own a 3-0 record against Oklahoma, including a 2-0 mark in Lexington.
Before transferring to Kentucky last summer, Oweh played his first two years with the Sooners and averaged 11.4 points per game last season.
In his first season with the Wildcats, Oweh leads the team with 15.7 ppg. and he has scored double figures in 26 of 27 games. He tallied just two and fouled out in the Wildcats; 96-85 loss at No. 6 Alabama last Saturday.
The junior guard aims to get back on track against his former team.
“I feel like every player who plays their old school obviously wants to do well. They're excited for that game. It's more like that, really. That's where I was last two years."
Although he played for Oklahoma coach Porter Moser for two seasons, Oweh said this year’s squad is “a brand new team.”
“I know Coach Moser, he’s a big X’s and O’s guy, so he’s going to make sure he does his research,” Oweh said. We just have to be ready to fight.”
Oweh said his season-low performance against the Crimson Tide was a learning experience.
“That was the most frustrated that I've been in a long time,” he said. “ … It's a learning lesson for me as well and I’ve just got to be smart. When I already have three fouls I maybe I have to put aggressiveness back a little bit. I definitely learned a lesson.”
Oweh added the Wildcats as a whole need to improve on not slowing down after getting off to a fast start.
“I think that’s stuff we have to fix. It’s more of an energy thing and a pride thing,” he said. “I think we have to take it on our shoulders more. If we start the game off hot, we can’t do it in spurts, it has to be a full 40 minutes. You can’t let those moments happen. We have to do a better job as players of keeping our energy up.”
INJURY UPDATE
Guards Lamont Butler (shoulder) and Jaxson Robinson (wrist) are back at practice and both players are on the right track to make a return to the lineup soon.
“They looked good,” Oweh said. “They’re trying their hardest to get back out there, but they look good. They’re working really hard, doing a lot of rehab and stuff like that. I feel like it’s only a matter of time before they get back out there.”
Both players competed in what coach Mark Pope termed a “modified practice” on Monday but he didn’t offer a timetable for both players to return.
"They were actually pretty functional in the limited work that they did (Monday),” Pope said. “Certainly, they're both on the uptick. We're hopeful about both of them. I don't know if either of them are going to be able to get to 100 percent health before the end of the season, but they're making progress, so we're really hopeful."
Gametracker: Kentucky at Oklahoma, 8 p.m.CT, Wednesday. TV/Radio: SEC Network, UK Radio Network SuperTalk 94.3 WKYX, WiLLiE 102.
Otega Oweh played for two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky last summer.
Keith Taylor/Kentucky Today
