When the lights get brightest and the pressure ratchets up, Otega Oweh has a knack for showing up - even when he’s not at 100 percent. Just days after gutting through an illness to lead Kentucky past LSU, the senior guard once again delivered in crunch time, this time helping the Wildcats claw their way back from a 17-point hole to stun Tennessee, 80-78, in a thriller at Rupp Arena.
Oweh didn’t light it up like he had in recent games - he finished with 12 points - but the timing of his production was everything. His second-half surge came when Kentucky needed it most, and it extended his streak of scoring in double figures to 18 games this season. That consistency has become a defining trait in a year where the Wildcats have made a habit of digging themselves into early deficits and relying on late-game magic to pull out wins.
Let’s be clear: Oweh was far from his sharpest early on. In the first half, he looked like a guy still shaking off the effects of the illness that had slowed him earlier in the week.
He managed just two points before halftime, missed both of his field goal attempts, and coughed up the ball three times. Kentucky was in a hole, and their most reliable scorer wasn’t looking like himself.
But in the second half, Oweh flipped the switch - again. He shot just 3-for-9 from the field and 3-for-7 at the line after the break, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Every one of his 10 second-half points came in the final eight minutes, and each one chipped away at Tennessee’s lead, building momentum for a comeback that felt improbable just minutes earlier.
The turning point? A deep three with 7:52 left that cut Tennessee’s lead to just three.
That shot didn’t just change the scoreboard - it changed the energy in the building. A pair of free throws a minute later kept the pressure on.
Then came a steal and a breakaway bucket that stopped the Volunteers from stretching the lead again. And with 34 seconds left, Oweh delivered the dagger: a transition and-one that gave Kentucky its first lead of the game - a lead they’d never give back.
It wasn’t just about the points. It was about the timing.
The poise. The leadership.
Oweh didn’t need to dominate for 40 minutes - he just needed to take over when it counted most.
And he wasn’t alone. Jasper Johnson carried the offense early, while Denzel Aberdeen stepped up in the second half, giving Oweh the space to bide his time and pick his spots. That’s what makes this Kentucky team dangerous - they’re starting to look like a group that can win in different ways, with different guys stepping up on different nights.
“I’m happy for Otega,” said head coach Mark Pope after the win. “Because he’s looking around now and he’s like, ‘You know what, I got a squad.’
I can go play.’ And that’s gotta make him feel great that he can have not his best game and we can still have a good performance as a team, because he brings it every game.
He’s probably the most consistent player I’ve ever coached.”
That consistency is no fluke. Oweh’s double-digit scoring streak isn’t just limited to this season - he’s now hit that mark in 21 straight games dating back to last year.
And he’s not just scoring - he’s defending, too. Saturday marked his 13th straight game with at least one steal, and 12 of those have included multiple takeaways.
So yes, Kentucky continues to flirt with disaster in the first half. But they’ve also got a closer in Oweh, a guy who doesn’t need to dominate the box score to dominate the moment. And as long as he’s out there, the Wildcats are never really out of a game.
The “Comeback Cats” are starting to make a habit of this. And with Oweh leading the charge, they just might keep pulling it off.