5 things you need to know from UK’s 78-72 win vs. Missouri in the SEC tourney
Five things you need to know from No. 9 seed Kentucky’s 78-72 win vs. No. 8 seed Missouri in the second round of the SEC Tournament:
1. Cats snap a dubious streak. With its victory over Mizzou plus its 87-82 opening round win over LSU, Kentucky has won two games in the same SEC Tournament for the first time since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led UK to the 2018 tourney title.
In the final four seasons of the previous UK coaching staff, the Cats lost their first game in the SEC tourney three times. Kentucky has only reached the semifinals of SEC Tournament twice, 2019 and 2022, since 2018.
Granted, winning an opening-round game over the No. 16 seed and a second round contest vs. the No. 8 seed is not the same magnitude of achievement as earning a double-bye and winning your way into the finals.
But given how much difficulty Kentucky has had winning SEC Tournament games over the previous six renewals of the event, it is nice to see UK winning any postseason contests.
2. UK answers a gut check. When Collin Chandler drained three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 14:33 left in the game, Kentucky had a 16-point lead, 53-37.
Behind the splendid play of Mizzou forward Mark Mitchell (32 points), the Tigers roared back and took a 70-69 lead on a Mitchell jumper with 2:34 left.
Now on the brink, UK answered the call.
Denzel Aberdeen sank a pair of free throws with 2:06 left to give Kentucky the lead back.
Otega Oweh got downhill and scored on a driving layup with 1:15 remaining to make it 73-70 Cats.
Oweh then knocked the ball off the leg of Mitchell in a double team to get the ball back for the Cats.
Aberdeen then scored on a driving layup to beat the shot clock for a 75-70 UK edge with 22.5 seconds left.
3. The BG encore. Kentucky junior big man Brandon Garrison played one of the best games of his two-season Cats’ career in UK’s 87-82 win over LSU in Wednesday’s SEC tourney opening round.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Oklahoma City product came off the Cats’ bench to contribute 17 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
With Kentucky clinging to a 65-64 lead almost midway through the second half, Garrison drained back-to-back 3-point shots to push the Cats ahead 71-64.
On Thursday vs. Missouri, Garrison (season averages of 4.8 points, 4 rebounds, 1.2 assists entering the game) did not take a field-goal try and had only one rebound.
However, Garrison made an impact defensively.
He blocked four shots and, on a crucial defensive possession inside the final two minutes, he forced Missouri star Mark Mitchell to give up the ball, and the Tigers’ T.O. Barrett forced to take a desperation shot to beat the shot clock that came nowhere close to the basket.
4. The Oweh watch. Kentucky senior star Otega Oweh scored 21 points in Thursday’s game and now has 1,192 points in his two-season UK career.
Oweh is 21 points behind Bill Spivey (1,213 career points) for the most ever scored by a player who only played two varsity seasons for UK
On the overall Kentucky scoring list, Oweh stands 42nd, with No. 41. Rodrick Rhodes (1,209 career points), No. 40. Chuck Hayes (1,211) and No. 39. Spivey (1,213) immediately ahead of him.
5. A SEC Tournament first. Missouri joined the SEC for the 2012-13 school year.
Yet Thursday’s meeting between Kentucky and the Tigers was the first SEC Tournament game ever between the two.
With Mizzou off the list, Texas, which joined the Southeastern Conference for the 2024-25 school year, is the only current SEC member that UK has not faced in the league tourney.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 3:03 PM.
