No Way, Oweh! Guard Leads Cats Past Sooners in SEC Tournament
In the regular season matchup between Kentucky and Oklahoma, Otega Oweh had a huge game, including the game-winning shot, as the Cats beat the Sooners, Oweh’s former team, in Norman. On Thursday night in the second round of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Oweh did it again.
With less than six seconds remaining and Kentucky trailing 84-83, Oweh took an inbounds pass in the backcourt, drove to the right baseline and scored with his left hand with 0.5 seconds left, lifting the Cats to an 85-84 win.
Oweh had 27 points in the game, one short of his scoring output in the regular season matchup, to lead Kentucky. The Cats got 22 points from Koby Brea and 11 from Andrew Carr, and UK survived an injury to starting point guard Lamont Butler in the victory.
Kentucky scored on its first possession on a Brea runner. On the next two possessions, the Cats got threes from Oweh and Carr to lead 8-0 and force an Oklahoma timeout. After the pause in play, the Sooners got a three-point play to cut the UK lead to five.
Baskets from Brea and Amari Williams gave UK a 12-3 lead, but Oklahoma scored the next six points to get within three. A Carr dunk and a Brea three extended the lead to 17-9 before Oklahoma cut it to 17-11.
A Trent Noah layup gave the Cats a 19-11 advantage before the Sooners scored six in a row to get within two. A Lamont Butler layup gave UK a 21-17 lead before an Oklahoma free throw cut the lead to three. Carr and Brea scored to stretch the lead to 25-18 but the Sooners scored the next 10 points to lead for the first time, 28-25.
Oweh scored four in a row, followed by a Noah bucket and two more Oweh free throws, giving Kentucky a 33-28 lead. The Sooners scored the next six to take the lead back, 34-33 but two more Oweh free throws swapped the lead back to the Cats, 35-34. The Sooners took the lead back before Brea hit a corner three to give UK a 38-36 advantage.
After Oklahoma tied the game again, Williams broke loose for a dunk just before the half, and UK took a 40-38 lead into the break. Brea had 12 points in the first half and Oweh had 11.
Oklahoma scored the first two points of the second half as the Cats missed their first four shots. That streak was stopped on a Collin Chandler three that gave UK a 43-40 lead. After an Oklahoma basket, Brea hit a mid-range jumper to give Kentucky a 45-42 lead, but the Sooners scored the next four to lead 46-45.
Brea made his third three of the night, giving UK a 48-46 lead, but the Sooners quickly tied the game. An Ansley Almonor basket, an Oweh layup and an Almonor putback comprised a 6-0 lead that gave the Cats a 54-48 lead with 13:03 to play.
The teams would trade baskets, including an Oweh dunk, and UK led 56-50. After an Oklahoma bucket, Brandon Garrison converted a three-point play to give the Cats a 59-52 lead. But the Sooners scored five in a row to get within two, 59-57.
Carr scored three in a row to make it 62-57. After two Oklahoma free throws, Williams scored in the lane to extend the lead to five. But Oklahoma would answer with a three to get within two, 64-62.
Oweh drove to the basket for a layup that gave UK a 66-62 lead, but Oklahoma hit another three to get within one, 66-65, with 6:50 remaining. But UK got threes from Oweh and Brea, then an Oweh three-point play and a Garrison dunk to lead 77-65 with 4:31 remaining.
Oklahoma would continue to chip away at the UK lead and, with Kentucky leading 80-70, the Sooners went on a 14-3 run to take the lead, 84-83, with six seconds left. That set the stage for Oweh’s heroics.
Kentucky plays in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night, facing Alabama for the third time this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
