Three takeaways as Oklahoma earns a rematch with Kentucky basketball in the SEC Tournament
Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s 81-75 win over Georgia in the first round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night:
1. Oklahoma earns a rematch with Kentucky
Coach Porter Moser’s Oklahoma Sooners had plenty of incentive in the final game of the opening day of the conference tournament. At 19-12 overall and 6-12 in the SEC, the Sooners needed a win to boost their chances of being selected for the NCAA Tournament come Sunday. Plus, a first-round OU win would mean a second chance at Kentucky, who beat the Sooners 83-82 in Norman on Feb. 26.
Missions accomplished. Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears scored 29 points and sparked a 16-0 run in the second half in which Oklahoma overcame a six-point deficit to take a 74-64 lead. In fact, OU held Mike White’s Bulldogs scoreless for 5:45 in that game-deciding stretch.
Offensively, Oklahoma made 10 of its 18 attempts from 3-point land in the first half to take a 43-39 lead at the break. The Sooners ended up 12-of-25 for 48 percent from beyond the arc on the way to shooting 48.1 percent from the floor. Georgia shot 44.4 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs were 10-of-28 from 3-point territory for 35.7 percent.
So OU has a shot at revenge against the Cats in Thursday’s 9:30 p.m. EDT second-round matchup. Remember the visiting Wildcats needed Otega Oweh to score 28 points, including his team’s final 18, to pull out the victory at Lloyd Noble Arena. Oweh hit the winning basket with 6.1 seconds remaining.
Since a 22-point loss at Florida on Feb. 22, the Sooners have gone 4-2. The two losses: That one-point loss to Kentucky and a three-point loss (87-84) at Ole Miss.
“Out guys,” Moser said, “have been really resilient.”
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2. Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears is a problem
Fears is a 6-foot-4 freshman guard from Joliet, Illinois, who was 8-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range on Wednesday. He was 9-of-12 from the foul line on his way to his fourth game of 20-or-more points out of Oklahoma’s last seven. That includes a 31-point effort in OU’s victory over Missouri.
Fears scored 18 points in the loss to Kentucky when he was 7-of-18 from the floor. He missed all three of his attempts from 3, and was 4-of-6 from the foul line. But it was Fears’ shot at the buzzer that was blocked by UK’s Brandon Garrison that sealed the win.
The super-quick guard had five turnovers in the first half Wednesday against Georgia. He had zero turnovers and 16 points in the second half.
“Really at halftime we talked to Jeremiah and told him to just settle down,” Moser said. “He had zero turnovers in the second half. I was really proud of him.”
He also scored in bunches. Fears scored 11 straight points in one stretch of the first half, including a sequence where he hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the second after Georgia was called for an off-the-ball foul. He scored eight straight points in the second half — the first eight of that key 16-0 run.
“Oh my goodness,” said White when asked about Fears. “The separation on the live bounce for 3s are one thing. I want to say a couple of those were well-defended 3s in the first half. He draws you out a little deeper and then he’s got a burst and he’s got great strength for a point guard.”
3. What will decide the OU-UK rematch?
“Our guys were stung by that game,” said Moser on Wednesday of that loss to Kentucky two weeks ago.
Oklahoma shot 52.6 percent in that first meeting. The Sooners were 10-of-25 on 3-pointers for 40 percent. Jalon Moore scored 20 points.
Meanwhile, Kentucky shot 50 percent, hitting 29 of its 58 shots. The Cats were just 7-of-23 from beyond the arc, but Oweh was a superhero down the stretch. The former Sooner was 12-of-21 from the floor for the game. He was 1-of-3 from 3-point range and 3-of-5 from the foul line.
“Otega has been consistent all year,” Moser said.
The Sooners have been consistently excellent on offense. They entered Wednesday No. 39 in kenpom’s adjusted overall efficiency numbers, but 24th in offensive efficiency.
“They’re an NCAA Tournament team,” White said. “They’re gonna be a tough out, especially offensively.”
SEC Tournament schedule and results
At Bridgestone Arena in Nashville
WEDNESDAY
Game 1: No. 9 seed Arkansas 72, No. 16 seed South Carolina 68
Game 2: No. 13 Texas 79, No. 12 Vanderbilt 72
Game 3: No. 10 Mississippi State 91, No. 15 LSU 62
Game 4: No. 14 Oklahoma 81, No. 11 Georgia 75
THURSDAY
Game 5: No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Arkansas, 1 p.m. (SEC)
Game 6: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Texas, about 3:30 p.m. (SEC)
Game 7: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (SEC)
Game 8: No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oklahoma, about 9:30 p.m. (SEC)
FRIDAY
Game 9: No. 1 Auburn vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 10: No. 4 Tennessee vs. Game 6 winner, about 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 11: No. 2 Florida vs. Game 7 winner, 7 p.m. (SEC)
Game 12: No. 3 Alabama vs. Game 8 winner, about 9:30 p.m. (SEC)
SATURDAY
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, about 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
SUNDAY
Championship game: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 1:25 AM.
