KSR Staff Predictions: Kentucky vs. Oklahoma, SEC Tournament 2nd Round

After a long week of waiting, Kentucky’s postseason finally starts tonight. The No. 6 seed Cats take on the No. 11 seed Oklahoma Sooners in the second round of the SEC Tournament, a rematch of last month’s game in Norman. Kentucky won that one by one point, 83-82, thanks to some second-half heroics by Otega Oweh.

Will the Cats take care of business against the revenge-minded Sooners or will the Big Blue Nation once again leave Nashville without a victory? The KSR crew is ready to weigh in.

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Tyler Thompson

I’m not loving the revenge factor for Oklahoma. It’s clear the Sooners want payback for the one-point loss to Kentucky two weeks ago, a game so chippy that a beer got chucked at Brandon Garrison’s head. Couple that with the quiet fear of another early tournament exit and tonight could be a stressful one for Kentucky fans, who will be worked into a frenzy after a long day of waiting.

Oklahoma is a different team than it was in the first meeting, winning three straight and working its way back onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. But, Kentucky’s different too. The Cats lost Jaxson Robinson for the season in the game in Norman, the closure of which has forced them to regroup. Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr appear as close to full health as they have been since the season began. After being shellacked by Auburn, the Cats are riding some momentum with back-to-back wins, playing some of their best basketball of the season in the second half vs. Missouri.

Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore will try to go off, but Kentucky will still take care of business with a group effort. Koby Brea will make himself at home beyond the arc in Bridgestone Arena; however, the Cats’ play inside will be the difference maker. Butler and Oweh will find their way to the rim and Amari Williams will own the paint in a close one, exorcising some March demons and setting up a fun Friday night matchup with Alabama.

Score: Kentucky 86, Oklahoma 82

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Zack Geoghegan

Oklahoma made it clear during last night’s postgame interviews that this is a revenge opportunity. Shutting down former Sooner Otega Oweh will be at the top of the priority list after his scoring avalanche in Norman a little over two weeks ago. Oweh will still likely get his, but who steps up alongside him? Lamont Butler and Amari Williams dealt with foul trouble in the first meeting. Butler is even healthier now too, but will still have his hands full with defending Jeremiah Fears.

Size will again be on Kentucky’s side in this one. I’m expecting a big outing from Andrew Carr. Brandon Garrison was great (outside of the post-buzzer antics) in round one and could find himself in position to thrive again off the bench. Tonight’s crowd will be almost entirely made up of Kentucky fans. Fears and Jalon Moore are tough covers, but the ‘Cats have the tools to slow them down. We’ll see another big game from UK’s defense tonight as Mark Pope picks up his first SEC Tournament win as head coach.

Score: Kentucky 81, Oklahoma 71

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Nick Roush

In Oklahoma’s SEC Tournament debut, Jeremiah Fears had 29 points (4-7 3FG) and Jalon Moore tallied 14 and 5 rebounds. As we saw in Norman, these two are capable of going nuclear. There’s one big difference between this matchup and the last one, and it’s not just the pro-Kentucky crowd in Nashville.

The trip to Oklahoma was Lamont Butler‘s first game for the Cats in two weeks. He was rusty and fouled out after only 20 minutes of action. In that limited time, Kentucky was +10. He was a true difference-maker, even though he wasn’t stuffing the stat sheet. Amplify that tenfold now that Butler has kicked off the rust.

More importantly, Andrew Carr has come into his own. The Oklahoma game was the last time we saw bad-back Carr. He scored 20 points against Auburn later that week. The last time we saw him on the floor, he had 16 and 12. Even more importantly, he was outstanding on the defensive end.

Oklahoma’s weakness is the interior. Carr will take advantage of that and serve as a buoy when Fears or Moore gets hot. It will get tight at times before Big Blue Nation rallies Kentucky to a win.

Score: Kentucky 89, Oklahoma 80

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Adam Luckett

The rematch of the thriller we saw in Norman in February is locked in for the second round of the SEC Tournament in a matchup of two at-large NCAA Tournament teams. Get ready for a shootout when Kentucky and Oklahoma meet again in Music City.

Both the Wildcats and the Sooner rank in the top 40 in three-point field goal percentage. Both defenses are sub-250 in three-point shot distribution allowed. Kentucky and Oklahoma also play with pace. If both teams are hot, the winner could get to 100 points at Bridgestone Arena.

Oklahoma has been dynamite in neutral-site games all season, and covers another spread on Friday night, but comes up just short of an outright win. Foul trouble was a major factor in the first meeting. This time Kentucky keeps Lamont Butler on the floor. That makes a big difference.

Otega Oweh doesn’t go nuclear again, but Kentucky still gets to the winner’s circle thanks to a better three-point shooting and rebounding effort. The Sooners will get their points with Jeremiah Fears and Jalon Moore leading the way, but Kentucky wins the three-point battle this time around. That ultimately ends up being the difference.

Score: Kentucky 87, Oklahoma 84

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Jack Pilgrim

I wanted Georgia for the revenge storyline, but man, there is something about the Bulldogs’ physicality and desire to turn everything into a football game that scared me with Kentucky’s history of health scares. Priority No. 1 is to win the SEC Tournament, but priority No. 2 for the Wildcats is to get through this thing at full strength with no setbacks. This one could get chippy considering how things ended in Norman the first time around 15 days ago, but it’s not a brand of basketball that should scare folks as much as Oklahoma’s talent, led by superstar freshman Jeremiah Fears.

Fears dropped 29 points in the SEC Tournament opener, so the hope is he got his March Madness magic out of the way and comes in overconfident thinking the things he did to Blue Cain and Silas Demary can be done to Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh. Don’t underestimate Collin Chandler’s explosion on the defensive end, either, coming in as a potential Fears stopper.

You didn’t get much from Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr in the first matchup while also getting a limited Jaxson Robinson for half the game. There is clarity for all three now with Butler and Carr back at full strength while Robinson is out for the year — no uncertainty on his status possession by possession, Mark Pope knowing exactly what he has in Nashville.

Kentucky’s feel-good trip to the Music City starts Thursday evening as the Cats roll.

Score: Kentucky 94, Oklahoma 80

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Drew Franklin

The new era of Kentucky in the SEC Tournament begins today. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the conference tournament matters to the Wildcats now. What a crazy concept, huh? Hopefully, with that enthusiasm comes an extended stay in Nashville, beginning with a fun win over Oklahoma in the second round.

The crowd will be the difference maker. I’ve not seen one Oklahoma fan downtown in the sea of Kentucky fans. Bridgestone Arena will be a home game for Kentucky, even better than the atmosphere in Rupp Arena. With that support, Kentucky will again beat Oklahoma, although it will be a more well-rounded performance than Otega Owen’s special night in Norman in the regular season. Emotions will be running high from that first meeting, and Kentucky will capitalize with a statement win, the first in Nashville since 2019. Let’s do it. Go Cats.

Score: Kentucky 93, Oklahoma 79

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Jacob Polacheck

Last time Kentucky played Oklahoma, it took some heroic efforts from Otega Oweh for the Cats to come away with a victory. While OU is playing better basketball since then, Kentucky has started to find a groove with Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa permanently sidelined this season.

Jeremiah Fears is still a lethal threat to score at any point, but Lamont Butler should perform better than he did in his first matchup against the Sooners. Oklahoma has also put themselves in a good position to make the NCAA Tournament, win or lose, so their backs aren’t fully against the wall in this one.

Mark Pope knows how important the SEC Tournament, especially after recent years, means to Big Blue Nation. I’m not picking UK to go one-and-done, Cats by 10.

Score: Kentucky 91, Oklahoma 81

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(6) Kentucky vs. (14) Oklahoma: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
• Television: SEC Network (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Molly McGrath)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 106 or 190
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.