Otega Oweh breaks down game-winning shot: "It's crazy. God is -- like, He's wild."

Otega Oweh was in disbelief coming off the floor, celebrating the moment he willed his game-winning floater in to beat his former school in the SEC Tournament while still not understanding how he did it. The Kentucky star just kept shaking his head as he walked in stride with Mark Pope back to the locker room following the 85-84 win over Oklahoma.

“What?! Man…” he said, doing his best to process the biggest shot of his career in his first-ever postseason game in blue and white.

You guys know the story by now and have seen the clip a hundred times, Oweh cruising down the right sideline like a jet past Kobe Elvis, down to the baseline and lifting for the off-balanced left-handed attempt, somehow missing Jalon Moore’s outstretched hand. The nightmare of losing on Jeremiah Fears’ go-ahead bucket with six seconds to go turned into an all-time dream for the Wildcats, surviving and advancing.

What went through Oweh’s mind as he caught the inbounds pass from Trent Noah coming out of that timeout, knowing the team’s fate was in his hands?

“I was like, dang, I just turned it over before,” he told KSR. “I got the ball again and I can’t turn it over. I’m trying to get a basket. Once I got to my right hand, he was on my hip a little bit, so I just tried to keep on going. Coach (Jason) Hart always talks about, like, digging in on your drive. Once you get him on your hip, just try to keep him there. I mean, that’s crazy, right?”

Crazy, indeed.

The turnovers made those six seconds much more interesting, knowing they had coughed it up three times in the 76 seconds before, potentially letting the win slip right through their fingers. That really put the next-play mentality to the test as the final play unfolded.

“I mean, I wanted it bad,” Oweh said. “Obviously, the plays before were careless plays, but Coach always preaches next play mentality and just trying to respond. That’s all I was thinking. Coach drew up the play to get me downhill and make a play. After those two plays, I just really tried to make sure I capitalized on this one.”

What does it say about Pope that he put Kentucky’s fate in Oweh’s hands, one way or another? It’s why he made the move from Norman to Lexington, why any basketball player wants to play at the highest level with the greatest responsibility and all of the pressure in the world.

The potential reward makes it all worthwhile, just as he experienced going into the early hours of Friday morning.

“Make a play. Nothing was really going through my head besides, ‘Make a play.’ He trusted me to go out there and do something,” he said. “As a basketball player, you want to be in that situation. I’m just thankful that he put me in that situation, that the play and the game turned out the way it did.”

Not one, but two game-winners against your former team, this time to advance in the postseason and send the opponent home? It’s a story that can only be written by a higher power — Oweh is sure of it.

“It’s crazy. I’ve been saying, God is — like, He’s wild,” the junior guard said. “The way he’s just writing up the story, I don’t know why, but the way it’s playing out is great. I’m just glad we got the win.”

Younger Otega Oweh would never believe his older self would be where he is today, hitting game-winners at the University of Kentucky to advance in the SEC Tournament with the crowd chanting his name at ear-piercing volume.

“Oweh, Oweh, Oweh, Oweeeeeeh. Oweeeeeh, Oweeeeeeh.”

To say he’s grateful would be an understatement.

“It’s a great feeling. I’m just blessed that I got the opportunity. It just feels good, really,” he said. “… You never think you’d be in this situation when you’re younger and go through your whole basketball journey. I’m just blessed that I’m in this situation, playing for Kentucky. I’m just always going to be thankful, I’m just blessed.”