Another SEC showdown, another 20-piece from Otega Oweh - and this one came with a little extra weight. Kentucky’s senior guard didn’t just put up numbers; he did it against a Tennessee team that had given him fits in the past.
Coming into Saturday’s clash, Oweh was averaging just 13 points on 36% shooting across four career games against the Vols. But this time, he flipped the script in a big way.
Oweh poured in 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Kentucky’s latest comeback win over Tennessee, adding four rebounds and two assists in a team-high 35 minutes. It marked the ninth time in 11 SEC games this season that he’s hit the 20-point mark - a level of consistency that’s putting him squarely in the SEC Player of the Year conversation.
“He’s got to be somewhere in pretty exclusive company with what he’s doing in SEC play right now,” head coach Mark Pope said after the win - and he’s not wrong.
What’s made Oweh’s recent stretch so impressive isn’t just the scoring totals. It’s how he’s doing it.
Against Tennessee, he missed his only three-point attempt and went just 1-of-4 from the free-throw line. But none of that stopped him from getting buckets.
He attacked the rim relentlessly, finishing through contact, around defenders, and sometimes seemingly around gravity itself.
If you caught that reverse layup - the one that kissed the glass high off the backboard and gave Kentucky its first lead since the opening minutes - you know what we’re talking about. That bucket made it 61-60 with six minutes to go, and it felt like a turning point. Not just in the game, but maybe in Oweh’s season.
And yet, the offensive fireworks were only half the story.
Oweh didn’t have his best first half defensively. Pope admitted as much, calling out some questionable decisions - including a shaky possession to end the half.
But what stood out most was how Oweh responded. He came out of the locker room locked in, especially on the defensive end.
His primary assignment, Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, had 14 points before halftime. After the break?
Just one.
Then came the play that may have sealed the win. With Kentucky clinging to a narrow lead and under a minute to go, Oweh - trapped under the basket - somehow wrapped a pass around a Tennessee defender to find a wide-open Collin Chandler in the corner.
Splash. Three-point lead.
Ballgame.
“The way he’s grown, it just is incredible. It’s really incredible,” Pope said.
“He did not have a good first half. He was really frustrated on the defensive end, a lot of that had to do with Tennessee.
But man, he stepped up and made great, under-control, super physical, demanding plays.”
That growth has been the story of Oweh’s season. After a slow start that didn’t quite match the expectations that came with being named SEC Preseason Player of the Year, he’s shifted into another gear since January. He’s now led Kentucky to an 8-3 record in games where he scores 20 or more, with five of those wins coming in SEC play.
He’s not just bouncing back - he’s making a case to finish what the preseason hype started.
“Of course,” Chandler said when asked if Oweh should be the SEC Player of the Year. “I don’t think there’s a doubt in that.”
At this point, it’s hard to argue. Oweh isn’t just piling up stats - he’s making winning plays, in big moments, against the kind of teams that matter most.
And if he keeps this up, we might be looking at more than just a comeback story. We might be watching the SEC’s best player take full control of his narrative.