KSR Today: Kentucky Fans Witnessed an All-Time Performance

by:Nick Roush•about 10 hours•

RoushKSR

Feb 26, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) goes up for a shot as Oklahoma Sooners forward Sam Godwin (10) defends during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

All it takes is one game to become an indelible part of the Kentucky fanbase. Tayshaun Prince‘s five three-pointers against North Carolina. Malik Monk‘s 47 against that same team more than 25 years later. You can’t see the number 54 without thinking about Jodie Meeks. After Wednesday night, you won’t be able to see the Oklahoma logo without thinking fondly about Otega Oweh‘s unforgettable homecoming.

Kentucky’s first game at the Noble Center was a return trip for Otega Oweh, the place he called home for his first two years of college basketball. Things weren’t going according to plan early.

“His first 32 minutes were so incredibly shaky,” was how Mark Pope described it in his postgame radio interview.

Kentucky dealt with foul trouble, they let Oklahoma get hot from three, and it felt like Oweh was forcing the action. We’ve seen it before. Some guys get swallowed up by the moment and can’t perform under pressure. A flip was switched and Otegatron was activated.

Over the final 12 minutes, he was the only Kentucky Wildcat to hit a shot. It didn’t matter what Oklahoma tried to do, they couldn’t stop him. He was creative and cunning. No matter how many guys swiped away at his arms or pushed him to the floor, he found a way to finish. When they trailed and needed a bucket with less than a minute to go, Pope had a play to get him a wide-open layup.

Oweh scored a career-high 28 points. He had Kentucky’s last 18 points, and the final two were the hardest. He beat his man off the dribble, jumped off his wrong foot, and as he was falling away to the floor was somehow able to bank the ball in with six seconds to play. He didn’t stay on the floor for long because Kentucky needed him to block Oklahoma’s game-winning shot and secure an 83-82 win.

Leaving Oklahoma with the dub. pic.twitter.com/2DlkrOWt8s
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 27, 2025

For a moment in time, Otega Oweh was invincible. Big Blue Nation witnessed greatness.

Things Got Chippy After the Kentucky Win

The first person to celebrate the win was Brandon Garrison. The Oklahoma City native had one of his best games as a Wildcat on both ends of the floor. He knocked down two threes and scored 12 points. He also swatted three shots and held his own while defending the Sooners’ talented tandem of Jalon Moore and Jeremiah Fears.

As the horn sounded, he let Oklahoma know who won the game. He got into an Oklahoma player’s face, and soon enough players were being separated on the court. If Garrison acted a second sooner, we may have had an Isaac Humphries situation on our hands. Officials reviewed the play but deemed it happened after the game ended.

But that wasn’t all. On $2 beer night, one of those went flying toward Garrison as the Wildcats made their way back to the Kentucky locker room.

Someone threw a beer can at Kentucky players as they left the court. Nearly hit Brandon Garrison in the head. pic.twitter.com/OH14N5wPDk
— Adam Stratton (@AdamStrattonKSR) February 27, 2025

Butler Returned, but Robinson Left Early

Kentucky fans were elated to learn that Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson were returning to the starting lineup for the first time in more than two weeks. Unfortunately, neither was able to finish the game.

Butler played well across the board, tallying 7 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds, but his night was finished when he committed his fifth foul with just over four minutes to play. Robinson did not see any action at all in the second half. He was 3-7 from the field with seven points, but his injured wrist didn’t feel up to par, so he sat on the sideline for the entire second half.

“Jax’s wrist didn’t respond great tonight, so we’ll see how that is going forward,” Mark Pope said in his postgame press conference. “I think Andrew [Carr] is doing okay. I think he’s okay. I think Lamont [Butler] is okay. We’ll see. You know, for us moving forward, it’s always the morning after that we’re going to know a lot more.”

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ESPN Left BBN Out to Dry

ESPN doesn’t want you to watch an entire college basketball game. They continue to schedule games two hours apart, even though it’s rare for a game to finish within that timeframe.

Typically, this isn’t a big deal. The later game will begin on ESPNews, which is easily accessible, but on Wednesday night, Arkansas-Texas got the nod. If you didn’t have the ESPN app ready, you weren’t able to watch Kentucky-Oklahoma until the 6:44 mark in the first half.

Buzz Williams did everything in his power to extend the game against Vanderbilt. By one reporter’s estimate, it took 35 minutes of real-time to play the final two minutes of the game, which featured multiple reviews and 28 free throw attempts.

A Kentucky WBB Rivalry Game

It always feels good to beat Tennessee. It doesn’t matter if it’s a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Tonight, Kenny Brooks Cats have a chance to give Big Blue Nation another reason to celebrate.

The good-for-nothing Tennessee Volunteers are making the drive up I-75 from Knoxville for a Top 25 matchup at Historic Memorial Coliseum. The 15th-ranked Cats are fresh off a disappointing loss at home to LSU, where they let a double-digit lead slip away in the third quarter. They can avenge it rather quickly with a win over No. 11 Tennessee, who has won four-straight games since the Lady Vols lost to LSU. The action tips off at 7 pm EST on the SEC Network.

Bat Cats Get Another Win

The Bat Cats scored a couple dozen runs in their home opener at Kentucky Proud Park. They followed that up with another impressive offensive performance on Wednesday. Kentucky took down Morehead State 8-2, thanks to a couple of impressive outings from freshmen. Tyler Bell was 3-5 with a double, two singles and two RBI, while Lexington native Leighton Harris had five strikeouts and allowed zero runs in four innings during his first start on the mound.

The Kentucky baseball team returns to action with a three-game home series against Hofstra, starting Friday at 4 pm EST.