Porter Moser knows what it looks like when a team gets hot-and stays hot. Unfortunately for the Oklahoma head coach, it was his Sooners on the wrong end of that heat Wednesday night, as Kentucky rolled to a 94-78 win, handing Moser his third straight loss to Mark Pope and the Wildcats.
It wasn’t just that Kentucky won-it’s how they did it. The Wildcats were efficient, physical, and flat-out explosive on offense, led by a pair of former Oklahoma recruits who made their presence felt in a big way.
Otega Oweh lit up his former team with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting, showcasing a well-rounded offensive game that’s clearly taken a leap. Brandon Garrison, coming off the bench, delivered his first career double-double with 20 points and 11 boards, and his impact went far beyond the box score. Garrison’s work on the glass helped Kentucky dominate the rebounding battle, 41-25, and kept the Sooners from ever making a serious run.
“Otega is just an elite player,” Moser said after the game. “He can knock down the shot, and he puts you in a real decision-making mode off ball screens.
He can turn the corner, and now he’s making really good decisions passing out of it. He’s becoming a complete player, and he’s so strong on defense.”
That strength was matched by Garrison’s physicality in the paint, where he controlled the boards and switched effectively on defense-no small feat against a team that likes to spread the floor.
“I think that’s where Brandon really is,” Moser added. “They were switching, and he’s able to move with speed and switch. His physical presence on the boards was a big factor.”
It was a problem Oklahoma couldn’t solve. Every time the Sooners tried to claw back, Kentucky answered-often with a second-chance bucket. Moser pointed to a key stretch when his team had cut the deficit to eight, only to see Kentucky grab multiple offensive rebounds and convert them into daggers.
“It’s a bunch of everything-physicality, size-and we just kept going,” Moser said of Kentucky’s rebounding edge. “We battled back.
I think we cut it to eight at one point, and then they got two or three offensive rebounds when you’re trying to cut into the lead. Those are the daggers.”
It wasn’t just the boards. Kentucky was lights-out from deep, especially in the first half, knocking down 9 of 16 from beyond the arc and shooting 50 percent from the field overall. The Wildcats’ execution on baseline stagger plays was crisp, and their shooters made tough shots look easy.
Moser singled out Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler, who both found rhythm early and kept the Sooners scrambling on defense.
“(Denzel) Aberdeen started it off. He got one, and then they hit another deep one,” Moser said.
“Chandler, he comes flying off-when you’re on a dead spread on a baseline stagger from one corner to the other wing, stop, dime, shoot. Those are tough shots, and it shows how good of a shooter he is to be able to catch and shoot off the move like that.
Some guys can’t shoot off the move like that.”
Chandler’s off-ball movement and quick release gave Oklahoma fits, and when Oweh added a step-back three to his highlight reel, it was clear the Sooners were up against a team firing on all cylinders.
“We had guarded him, and we were playing that drive, and he kind of shook us,” Moser said of Oweh’s step-back. “He took a step-back 3, and he’s really almost-I don’t want to say impossible-but he’s damn close when he’s in the rocker step 3’s.
Because if he gets an angle on you, he’s keeping the angle. He’s so strong.”
For Oklahoma, it was a tough night against a team that’s starting to look like it’s finding its stride. For Kentucky, it was the kind of performance that not only gets you a win-it sends a message. With Tennessee and Florida up next, the Wildcats’ rebounding, shooting, and depth are trending in the right direction at just the right time.