Otega Oweh didn’t just show up in Kentucky’s win over St. John’s - he set the tone.
While Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe might’ve commanded the headlines with highlight plays and big moments, it was Oweh who walked away with the SEC Co-Player of the Week honors. And after watching how he imposed his will on both ends of the floor, it’s easy to see why.
Oweh poured in a game-high 20 points in the Wildcats’ 78-66 win - their first victory over a ranked opponent this season. He added five rebounds and three steals, doing a little bit of everything while anchoring Kentucky’s physical edge. With Lowe orchestrating the offense and Quaintance holding things down in the paint, Oweh had the freedom to be exactly what Kentucky needs him to be: a relentless, downhill force.
He lived at the rim and earned his way to the line, going 8-for-9 from the stripe. In the second half alone, he was a +12 in just 17 minutes - a stretch where his energy and physicality helped Kentucky pull away. It was the kind of all-around impact that reminded everyone why he was tagged as the Preseason SEC Player of the Year.
Defensively, Oweh was just as impactful. His three steals extended his streak to seven straight games with at least one - the longest of his career.
But it wasn’t just about the steals. He was a tone-setter on that end, helping to hold a high-powered St.
John’s team to just 33.3% shooting from the field - their lowest mark of the season.
“He is a unique player,” head coach Mark Pope said afterward. “When he does what he does, he has such a massive impact on the team.”
Pope didn’t stop there. He talked about how Oweh’s intensity is contagious - how the team tends to mirror his energy.
“These guys follow his fight. When he’s physical, our team seems to be physical.
When he’s cutting hard, they cut hard. When he’s talking, our team talks,” Pope said.
“It’s a big burden for him to carry, but he’s kinda working in that direction where he’s understanding and embracing it a little bit more. He’s a bellwether for our team.”
That leadership is showing up in the box score, too. Oweh has now scored in double figures in all 12 games this season, and he’s hit the 20-point mark in two of the last three. He leads the Wildcats in both scoring (14.5 points per game) and steals (21), and he’s doing it with a steady confidence that’s starting to shape the identity of this team.
This is Oweh’s first SEC Player of the Week honor of the season - and the first for Kentucky as a team. He shares the award with Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie, but make no mistake: Oweh’s performance against St.
John’s was a statement. If this is the version of Oweh Kentucky gets moving forward, the Wildcats just found their heartbeat.