Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman
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Game day: No. 17 Kentucky 83, Oklahoma 82
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 83-82 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday night in Norman.
1. A triumphant return for Otega Oweh
On Tuesday, UK guard Otega Oweh claimed he was treating his return to the Lloyd Noble Center, where he played his first two years of college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, as just any other game.
Instead, it turned out to be the best game of Oweh’s collegiate career. The 6-foot-4 guard from Newark, New Jersey, practically willed the visiting Wildcats to the win on his old home court.
Not only did Oweh finish with a career-high 28 points, he scored Kentucky’s final 18 points on nine straight baskets. That included the game-winner on a determined drive through lane traffic for a twisting, off-balance bucket with 6.1 seconds left that put the Cats ahead 83-82.
Kentucky needed every Oweh point, too, as after playing 12 minutes in the first half, starting shooting guard Jaxson Robinson sat out the second half with an ice bag on his right wrist. Then starting point guard Lamont Butler fouled out with 4:16 remaining and Oklahoma holding a 75-73 lead. Robinson (wrist) and Butler (shoulder) were making their return to the lineup after missing all or part of UK’s last four games.
Meanwhile, Oweh was coming off his first single-digit scoring performance of the season after being held to just two points in UK’s 96-83 loss at Alabama last Saturday. Wednesday, he bounced back in a big way, going 12-for-21 from the floor, 1-for-3 from 3-point territory and 3-for-5 from the foul line.
And, oh yeah, Oweh won the game.
2. Kentucky’s defense took a step back
After a 98-84 loss at Ole Miss back on Feb. 4, Kentucky made a renewed effort toward improving on the defensive end of the floor. The emphasis had worked, as coach Mark Pope’s team had climbed from No. 112 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings all the way to No. 61 heading into the OU game.
The Cats suffered some regression in Norman. Oklahoma shot 48.4% from the floor in the first half on 15-for-31 shooting. The Sooners then shot 57.7% the second half, hitting 15 of their 26 attempts overall, including 7-for-13 from 3-point range.
To be sure, coach Porter Moser’s team boasts some offensive firepower. Oweh’s former teammate and friend Jalen Moore scored 20 points. Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears finished with 18 points. Brycen Goodine made four of his six attempts from beyond the arc. Oklahoma ended up 10-for-25 from 3-point territory.
Still, Kentucky allowed too many drives to the basket in the second half that opened up scoring opportunities. That was an ongoing problem the Cats had largely fixed in their last few outings. In scoring 96 points on UK in Tuscaloosa, Alabama shot 52.5%. In scoring 82 points on UK on Wednesday, Oklahoma shot 52.6%.
3. College basketball games are taking too long
By the time Vanderbilt finally defeated host Texas A&M 86-84 on the SEC Network, there was just a little over seven minutes left in the first half of the network’s nightcap game between the Cats and Sooners.
“Joined in progress” has been a common occurrence this basketball season. Too common. Game after game after game has run far beyond the two-hour window the ESPN family of networks has programmed for each matchup. That has caused a chunk of the next game to be televised on another network, the ESPN app, or not at all.
Sure, the cable network is to blame for how it stacks one game after another, but the game itself shares some of the blame, too. Teams are allowed too many timeouts — four in addition to the eight media timeouts each game. There are also way too many official reviews that take way too much time.
I’ve not been in favor of adopting the four-quarter approach used by the women’s game, but I might have to rethink that position. After all, something needs to change.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 12:31 AM.
