Kentucky-LSU Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

SOUTHJEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
BRIDGESTONE ARENA | NASHVILLE, TN
MARCH 11, 2026
ATTENDANCE: will be announced at end of session

Final Score: Kentucky 87, LSU 82

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 20-12 overall.
• LSU is 15-17 overall.
• Kentucky leads the series 95-29, winning both games this season vs. the Tigers.
  • UK leads 17-2 in SEC Tournament games.
  • UK leads 15-3 in neutral sites, including 2-0 in Nashville.
• Kentucky advances to the second round of the tourney Thursday vs. Missouri. Game time is 12:30 p.m. EDT (11:30 a.m. EDT in Nashville) and will be televised on the SEC Network.

Kentucky in the SEC Tournament

• Kentucky has an all-time record of 137-31 in the SEC Tournament.
• UK is 23-7 in SECT games played in Nashville, including 20-7 in the current arena.
• UK has won 31 championships, with Alabama second with eight titles.

Team Notes

• This is the 70^th season that Kentucky has won at least 20 games, including 2-for-2 under Coach Mark Pope.
  • This is Pope’s eighth 20-win season during his 11 years as a head coach. The eight 20-win campaigns have come in his last nine seasons.
• Kentucky made half of the field goal attempts today, 32 of 64, and are now 11-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
• Kentucky kept LSU to 25 percent from 3-point range (5 of 20). The Wildcats are 10-0 this season when keeping the opponent to 25 percent or less from deep
• Kentucky limited LSU to 11 assists. The Wildcats are 13-0 this season when the opponent has 12 or fewer.
• All nine Wildcats who played also scored.
• Kentucky is now 14-1 this season when leading at halftime.

Player Notes  

• Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
  • After scoring 27 points in last season’s SEC Tournament opener vs. Oklahoma, he becomes the first UK player to score at least 23 points in consecutive SEC tourney openers since Keith Bogans in 2000 and 2001.
  • Oweh is the first Wildcat with at least 23 points and eight rebounds in an SEC Tournament game since Randolph Morris vs. Mississippi State in 2007.
  • Scored at least 20 points in 15 of 19 games this season vs. SEC opponents.
  • He has hit double figures in 31 of 32 games this season.
  • He has 1,171 points during his two seasons at Kentucky, passing Antonio Reeves for most points ever for a transfer who played only two seasons at UK.
  • His 1,171 points are third-most for any Wildcat during his first two seasons wearing the Blue and White.
• Brandon Garrison had 17 points, his second best of the season, on 7-of-9 shooting and making a pair of 3-pointers.
  • His two long shots tied his career high, accomplished for the third time – two of which have come against LSU (also last season).
  • He also had five rebounds and led the defensive effort with two blocked shots and two steals.
  • He led the team in plus/minus with a +11.
• Denzel Aberdeen had 16 points and tied for the team lead in assists with three.
  • It is his 23^rd double-figure game of the season and 14^th in the last 17 games.
  • Replacing the injured Jaland Lowe as the starting point guard, he has warmed to the task as the season progressed. Over the last seven games, he has 31 assists and only four turnovers.
• Mouhamed Dioubate continued his strong bench contributions with seven points and seven rebounds.
  • He has averaged 11.2 points over the last five games.
  • He also has been a consistent rebounder recently, grabbing at least four boards in the last eight games.
  • He was second in plus/minus with a +10 in 21 minutes of action.
• After missing 12 games because of a broken foot, Kam Williams played 15 minutes, totaling three points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
  • He made his first shot, a 3-pointer that gave UK a 23-17 lead.
  • His last appearance was Jan. 21 vs. Texas.
• Kentucky is currently missing Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe because of injury. Lowe is out for the season.
  • During his two years at UK, Coach Mark Pope has played only five of 53 games against high-major opponents (9.4 percent) with a full roster.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started the combination of Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Otega Oweh, Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno for the 13^th consecutive game.
• Moreno picked up two early fouls, leading to UK’s first substitutions of Brandon Garrison and Mo Dioubate at 14:49.
• Kentucky got ahead 18-17 on an Oweh jumper with 11:39 remaining and the Wildcats led the remainder of the half.
• Kentucky’s largest lead was nine points at 37-28.
• Kentucky took a 46-43 lead into halftime.
  • Oweh led the Wildcats with 13 points and five rebounds.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
• LSU tied the game at 47 with 18:24 remaining but was called for a flagrant foul. Moreno made both foul shots and Oweh hit a jumper to restore a four-point lead.
• LSU regained the lead, 54-53.
• Trailing 58-57, a five-point spurt put the Wildcats back in the lead, 62-58.
• Clinging to a 65-64 lead with 11 minutes to go, Garrison hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wildcats a 71-64 cushion, prompting an LSU timeout at 9:54
  • After the timeout, an Aberdeen basket put the count at 73-64.
• Kentucky extended the run to 12-1, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 77-65 with 6:54 remaining.
• LSU rallied within five points, 79-74, 81-76 and then 83-78 with 49 seconds left.
• Two free throws by Aberdeen, one by Oweh and one by Chandler kept the Tigers at bay as the Wildcats held on to win.