Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 94-78 win over Oklahoma
Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 94-78 win vs. Oklahoma:
1. Cats evade a trap. For Kentucky, Oklahoma was the epitome of a “trap game.”
The Wildcats entered the contest off an emotional victory over ex-UK coach John Calipari and Arkansas on the road in Fayetteville.
UK’s next game, Saturday against Tennessee, is a rivalry game that people have also been looking ahead to because Kentucky will honor its 1996 NCAA championship team. The current Cats are slated to wear throwback denim uniforms in honor of the 1996 Wildcats.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma entered the contest on an eight-game losing streak which was a little bit misleading. OU coach Porter Moser’s Sooners are not devoid of talent and showed that in playing well-regarded SEC foes such as Alabama (Oklahoma lost by two), Missouri (by one in overtime on the road) and Arkansas (four) tough.
On Wednesday night, the Cats evaded the trap.
A late 8-0 run at the end of the first half allowed Kentucky to take a 43-32 lead at the half.
The Wildcats lead was in double figures in for all but 33 seconds of the second half.
2. Oweh vs. OU III. In Kentucky standout Otega Oweh’s two contests last season against Oklahoma, the 6-foot-4 guard tormented his former team.
In UK’s 83-82 win over OU last season in Norman, Oweh scored 28 points and hit the game-winning shot on a runner in the lane with 6.1 seconds left.
He sank the Sooners again in last season’s SEC Tournament, scoring 27 points and again defeating Oklahoma with a last-second shot, this one a runner along the right baseline with 0.5 of a second remaining.
Oweh, who scored 498 total points while playing for Oklahoma from 2022 through 2024, got his third shot at his former team Wednesday night. He continued to emphatically show the Sooners what they had and lost.
This time, Oweh hit 7 of 11 shots, 3 of 4 3-pointers and 7 of 9 free throws en route to a game-high 24 points.
In three contests vs. OU, Oweh is averaging a cool 26.3 points.
3. The “BG Game.” Oweh was not the only Kentucky player with Oklahoma ties who came up big for the Wildcats.
Backup big man Brandon Garrison, a native of Oklahoma City who began his college career at Oklahoma State, set a new UK career high with 20 points. The 6-10, 245-pound Garrison also matched his Kentucky high by pulling down 11 rebounds.
Garrison’s overall college career scoring high remains the 21 points he scored for Oklahoma State in a 93-83 victory over BYU in 2023-24.
4. Another UK injury scare. With 15:57 left in the game and UK up 55-38, Kentucky lead guard Denzel Aberdeen took an elbow to the head in a rebounding scramble.
Aberdeen left the game and went to the UK locker room. He returned to courtside with 11:48 remaining and UK’s lead at 63-49.
The former Florida guard did not check back into the game until there was only 6:10 left. At that point, the UK lead was 76-61.
Aberdeen then played to the finish, ending the game with eight points, five assists and only one turnover.
Kentucky is already without three of its core players due to injury in point guard Jaland Lowe (shoulder surgery), wing Kam Williams (broken foot) and post player Jayden Quaintance (knee swelling).
5. The Rupp debuts of new SEC teams. New SEC members are now 2-4 in their first games against Kentucky in Lexington.
In the Rupp Arena era (since 1976-77), the Southeastern Conference has expanded by two teams on three different occasions.
In 1991-92, Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC. For 2012-13, Missouri and Texas A&M entered the league.
Last season, Oklahoma and Texas became SEC members — but neither played Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
The Longhorns and Sooners each made their Rupp debuts as league rivals of UK this season.
This is how Kentucky has fared against SEC newcomers in their first games as league members at Rupp Arena:
• 1991-92: Arkansas 105, Kentucky 88.
Kentucky 74, South Carolina 56.
• 2012-13: Texas A&M 83, Kentucky 71.
Kentucky 90, Missouri 83 (overtime).
• 2025-26: Kentucky 85, Texas 80.
Kentucky 94, Oklahoma 78.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 11:24 PM.
