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Kentucky, Oklahoma get into postgame scrum, cancel handshake line following wild finish

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•02/26/25•

BarkleyTruax

Otega Oweh
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Emotions were high during the final moments of No. 17 Kentucky‘s 83-82 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday night. Tempers eventually flared after the final buzzer, leading to the handshake line being waived off.

Kentucky’s Otega Oweh, an OU transfer who scored 28 points in his return to Norman, appeared to say something toward freshman guard Jeremiah Fears as the teams approached each other for the postgame tradition. Jalon Moore, Oweh’s teammate last year, was seen shouting toward the UK team in the seconds after the encounter.

Both teams were eventually separated as Oweh headed to do postgame media.

“It feels great,” Oweh said of being back in Norman. “There are not a lot of opportunities that basketball players get in this situation. Playing at this school before, and then having some teammates on the court too, so there was just a lot of emotion to it.

“At the end of the day, you kind of have to take that emotion out of it and try and get the win. So that’s what I was really focusing on.”

Oweh scored 23 of his 28 points during the second half, including the game-winning layup that he threw into the basket over his head amid contact. He would also be a part of the wall of UK players to block Fears’ game-winning layup attempt, although it would eventually be credited to Brandon Garrison.

His 23 points accounted for over half of Kentucky’s scoring total during the final stretch.

“I wanted to start playing with some motor, some intensity,” Oweh said of his second-half performance. “I feel like in the first half, I was kind of letting the game come to me and just letting everything play out. But I wanted to be aggressive in the second half and just try to leave my imprint on both defense and offense.”

Fears and Moore, who were a part of the postgame drama that ended the handshake line before it started, combined for 38 points during the contest. They were responsible for 14 of the Sooners’ 30 made field goals in the loss.

The victory improves the Wildcats to 19-9 overall on the season, while the Sooners drop to 17-11.

Kentucky will move into March set to face No. 1 Auburn at home on Saturday afternoon, while OU heads to Oxford to take on an Ole Miss team that has lost its last three games.