Otega Oweh Is Turning Into Kentucky’s Closer-and Oklahoma Keeps Getting the Message
There’s something about Oklahoma that seems to bring out the best in Otega Oweh. Maybe it’s the familiarity.
Maybe it’s the motivation. Whatever it is, the former Sooner-turned-Wildcat has made a habit of delivering heartbreak to his old squad - and doing it in dramatic fashion.
In two matchups against Oklahoma since transferring to Kentucky, Oweh has racked up 55 points on a blistering 57.1% shooting clip, knocked down half of his threes, and hit 80% from the line. But it’s not just the numbers - it’s the moments.
Oweh didn’t just score. He closed.
In the first meeting, he silenced his old home crowd with a cold-blooded Euro-step into a running hook that gave Kentucky the lead with just over six seconds to go. In the second, it was a full-court sprint ending in a left-handed baseline floater with 0.5 on the clock - the dagger that sealed Mark Pope’s first SEC Tournament win.
Two games, two game-winners. Against his former team.
That’s the kind of script Hollywood would turn down for being too on the nose.
For Kentucky, those moments were pure adrenaline. For Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser, they were gut punches.
And for Oweh’s teammates? Just another reminder of what their guy is capable of.
“I remember the SEC Tournament,” freshman guard Collin Chandler said. “I remember the play, and I remember where I was.
Two unbelievable plays. Hopefully we don’t need that kind of magic again this week - but unforgettable, for sure.”
“If round three is like one or two,” added Trent Noah, “it should be exciting.”
Exciting is one way to put it. Oweh’s not just flashing brilliance here and there - he’s putting together a stretch of basketball that screams elite.
After a relatively quiet start to his senior season, he’s now scored 20 or more in nine of his last 13 games. He’s hit double figures every time out.
And the preseason SEC Player of the Year buzz that faded early? It’s back - and it’s loud.
That surge in play has coincided with Kentucky finding its rhythm. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven, including a statement road win over No.
15 Arkansas. Oweh led the way with a season-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting, plus eight rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes.
He was locked in - and it showed.
“Otega, that’s a pretty normal thing for him,” Chandler said. “He’s consistently great, and that’s what we expect from him.
He knows that. It was a big one for all of us after how we felt earlier in the week.
We all wanted to respond.”
And that was just on the offensive end. Defensively, Oweh took on the challenge of guarding one of the top guards in the country, Darius Acuff.
He held Acuff to 2-of-10 shooting in the first half, setting the tone early and helping Kentucky build a cushion. When Acuff tried to heat up in the second, Oweh matched him blow for blow - and ultimately, he got the better of it.
“He always plays with urgency,” Noah said. “He’s such a good player that sometimes it kind of goes under the radar.
He’s always guarding an elite guard while doing what he does on offense. He does it so effortlessly, night in and night out.
It’s kind of ridiculous, honestly.”
Noah would know. He’s been going toe-to-toe with Oweh since they both arrived in Lexington in June 2024.
And those early practices? Let’s just say they were a learning experience.
“Last summer, it was just a massacre,” Noah said with a laugh. “He was taking me to the rim over and over.
I didn’t know what to do. But that’s how I’ve gotten better.
I get to guard one of the best players in the SEC - in the country - every day in practice. That’s a gift.
He’s a good player, a good friend, a good mentor.”
Now, with momentum building and another showdown with Oklahoma on the horizon, the question is simple: Can Oweh do it again?
“It’s his old team, and he’s just hungry to win,” Noah said. “He wants to win every single game, play as hard as he can.
He’s a player that makes plays - off script, on script, doesn’t matter. You’re never out of it when you’ve got O on your team.”
If history is any indication, Oklahoma might want to brace itself. Because when Otega Oweh sees crimson and cream, he doesn’t just play - he takes over.