Inspired by Otega Oweh, ranking the top 25 UK clutch shots of the 21st Century
Otega Oweh’s buzzer-beating, overtime-forcing bank shot vs. Santa Clara created one of the most exhilarating Kentucky men’s basketball moments in eons.
Since Oweh’s heroics in UK’s 89-84 overtime victory in last week’s NCAA Tournament round of 64, I have been contemplating where “Oweh’s banker” should rank in the lore of Cats men’s basketball?
So I’ve generated a list of the “Top 25 Kentucky clutch shots in the 21st Century.”
To make this list, a shot had to be a buzzer-beater or a basket (not free throws) that put Kentucky ahead to stay, clinched victory or forced overtime in a late-game scenario. Shots were evaluated on both degree of difficulty and what was at stake in the games in which they occurred.
Some of the shots on my list were made in games that Kentucky lost. To me, that does not detract from the “clutchness” required in real time for the players to make those shots.
Here are my Top 25 Kentucky clutch shots of the 21st Century:
25. Rajon Rondo vs. South Carolina, Jan. 21, 2006. Exactly 18 days after he’d hit a game-winner vs. Central Florida, Rondo hit a 3-point shot with 1.4 seconds remaining to give Kentucky an 80-78 win over the Gamecocks.
24. EJ Mongtomery vs. Florida, March 17, 2020. Kentucky’s rally from 18 points down to victory was capped by Montgomery’s tip-in with 11.6 seconds left that gave the Cats a 71-70 road win. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it proved UK’s final game of the season.
23. Julius Randle vs. LSU, Feb. 22, 2014. UK was down 76-75 in overtime when LSU’s Jordan Mickey blocked a James Young shot. Randle scooped up the ball and scored in the lane with 3.9 seconds left, giving Kentucky a 77-76 victory.
22. Reed Sheppard vs. Mississippi State, Feb. 27, 2024. The former North Laurel star scored on a runner in the lane with less than a second remaining to give UK a 91-89 win.
21. John Wall vs. Miami (Ohio), Nov. 16, 2009. In his first game in a Kentucky uniform, Wall hit a 15-foot jumper with less than a second remaining to give UK a 72-70 victory.
20. Malik Monk vs. North Carolina, Dec. 17, 2016. To cap off a 47-point performance, Monk drained a 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds left that put UK up 101-100 in what became a 103-100 win.
19. Malachi Moreno vs. LSU, Jan. 14, 2026. Down 74-73 in the final seconds, Kentucky ran “the Christian Laettner play.” The 7-foot Moreno caught Collin Chandler’s three-quarters-court pass, turned and sank a 15-footer at the buzzer for a 75-74 win.
18. Otega Oweh vs. Oklahoma, Feb. 26, 2025. Oweh gave his new team an 83-82 win over his former team with an acrobatic runner in the lane with six seconds left.
17. Jodie Meeks vs. Florida, Feb. 10, 2009. Tightly defended by Gators guard Nick Calathes, Meeks rifled in a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left to give UK a 68-65 win.
16. Keldon Johnson vs. Seton Hall, Dec. 8, 2018. With UK down 70-67 and 1.5 seconds left, Johnson heaved a shot from mid-court — which went in to force overtime. Alas, the Cats lost 84-83 in the OT.
15. Otega Oweh, vs. Oklahoma, 2025 SEC Tournament second round. Oweh did in Oklahoma again. This time, he took the ball the length of the court and scored with his left hand with 0.5 seconds remaining to give UK an 85-84 win.
14. Derek Willis, vs. Texas A&M, 2016 SEC Tournament final. With the Cats and Aggies tied at 75 in overtime, Willis drained a 3-pointer with 1:01 left to put UK ahead for good in what became an 82-77 victory.
13. DeMarcus Cousins vs. Mississippi State, 2010 SEC Tournament finals. With Kentucky down three with 8.2 seconds left, Eric Bledsoe hit a free throw, then missed the second on purpose. John Wall rebounded, but shot an air ball from the right corner — which Cousins tipped in just ahead of the buzzer to force overtime. UK went on to win 75-74.
12. Malik Monk vs. North Carolina, 2017 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. With Kentucky down 73-70, the UK guard drained a trey from the top of the key with 7.2 seconds left to tie the game. North Carolina’s Luke Maye subsequently trumped Monk’s clutch shot with a game-winning jumper.
11. Tayshaun Prince vs. St. Bonaventure, 2000 NCAA Tournament round of 64. With UK down three, Prince came off a double screen and nailed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to force overtime. The Cats prevailed 85-80 in double OT.
10. Brandon Knight, vs. Princeton, 2011 NCAA Tournament round of 64. The UK freshman had not made a field goal in the entire game — until, with two seconds left, he drove around 6-foot-8 Kareem Maddox for a layup that gave Kentucky a 59-57 victory.
9. James Young vs. Wichita State, 2014 NCAA Tournament round of 32. With Kentucky trailing the unbeaten Shockers 71-70, Young nailed a 3-pointer with 1:40 left that put the Cats ahead to stay in what became a 78-76 win.
8. Aaron Harrison vs. Louisville, 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Harrison buried a trey from the deep left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead for good in what became a 74-69 victory.
7. Tyler Herro vs. Houston, 2019 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. With Kentucky trailing Houston 58-57, Herro hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 25.8 seconds left. It put UK ahead 60-58 in a game it went on to win 62-58.
6. DeAndre Liggins vs. North Carolina, 2011 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. The UK wing buried a trey from the deep corner with 35.6 seconds left that put Kentucky ahead 73-69 in a game the Cats would win 76-69.
5. Patrick Sparks vs. Michigan State, 2005 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. With UK down three as time was expiring, Sparks let fly with a 3-pointer. The shot bounced off the rim, caromed off the backboard, hung on the left side of the rim — and dropped in to force overtime. Ultimately, UK lost 94-88 in double OT.
4. Otega Oweh vs. Santa Clara, 2026 NCAA Tournament round of 64. With UK down three points in the final seconds, Oweh uncorked a 3-point bomb from 40 feet that banked through the rim as the final horn was sounding. UK went on to win 89-84 in overtime.
3. Brandon Knight vs. Ohio State, 2011 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Knight’s pull-up jumper with 5.4 seconds left gave UK a 62-60 upset of the NCAA tourney’s No. 1 overall seed.
2. Aaron Harrison vs. Michigan, 2014 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Harrison drained a contested trey from the left wing with 2.3 seconds left to beat Michigan 75-72.
1. Aaron Harrison vs. Wisconsin, 2014 Final Four. Harrison buried another 3-pointer from the left wing, this one with 5.7 seconds left, to beat Wisconsin 74-73 and put Kentucky into the NCAA final.
