Kentucky-Missouri Postgame Notes

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
BRIDGESTONE ARENA | NASHVILLE, TN
MARCH 12, 2026
ATTENDANCE: will be announced at end of session

Final Score: Kentucky 78, Missouri 72

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 21-12 overall.
• Missouri is 20-12 overall.
• Kentucky leads the series 17-4.
  • On Jan. 7, Missouri won at Kentucky, 73-68.
  • This was the first time the teams have met in the SEC Tournament.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats take on SEC regular-season champion Florida on Friday at 1 p.m. ET (noon CT in Nashville). The game will be televised on ESPN.
  • Florida won both regular-season matchups against Kentucky, 92-83 in Gainesville (Feb. 14) and 84-77 in Lexington (March 7).

Kentucky in the SEC Tournament

• Kentucky has an all-time record of 138-31 in the SEC Tournament.
• UK is 24-7 in SECT games played in Nashville, including 21-7 in the current arena.
• UK has won 31 championships, with Alabama second with eight titles.

Team Notes

• Kentucky limited Missouri to 10 assists. The Wildcats are 14-0 this season when the opponent has 12 or fewer.
• Kentucky blocked nine shots, a season high in that category.
• Kentucky is now 15-1 this season when leading at halftime.

Player Notes  

• Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 21 points
  • He is the first Wildcat to score at least 21 points in the first two games of an SEC Tournament since Jamal Murray in 2016.
  • Scored at least 20 points in 16 of 20 games this season vs. SEC opponents.
  • He has hit double figures in 32 of 33 games this season.
  • His 1,192 points are second-most for any Wildcat during his first two seasons wearing the Blue and White. Today, he surpassed Dan Issel, who had 1,190 during his first two seasons with the varsity.
  • He also had two steals today, his 19^th game this season with multiple thefts.
• Denzel Aberdeen notched 16 points and led the Wildcats in assists with seven.
  • With Kentucky trailing 70-69, he scored six of UK’s last nine points in the last 2:06 of action.
  • He is the first Wildcat with a 16-point, seven-assist game in the SEC Tournament since Rob Dillingham in 2024.
  • This was his 24^th double-figure game of the season and 15^th in the last 18 games.
  • He drew six fouls, leading to a 7 of 8 performance at the foul line.
  • Replacing the injured Jaland Lowe as the starting point guard, he has warmed to the task as the season progressed. Over the last eight games, he has 38 assists and only five turnovers.
• Collin Chandler had an efficient shooting game, making 5 of 6 field goals, 2 of 3 on 3-pointers, and 3 of 3 at the foul line for a total of 15 points.
  • It is his 19^th double-figure game of the season.
  • He added two assists and a career-high-tying three steals.
• Mouhamed Dioubate had nine points and seven rebounds.
  • He has averaged 10.8 points over the last six games.
  • He also has been a consistent rebounder recently, grabbing at least four boards in the last nine games.
• Andrija Jelavic notched six points and six rebounds. He led the team in plus/minus with a +12.
• 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 54 games against high-major opponents (9.3 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 14^th consecutive game.
• UK’s first substitute was Mo Dioubate at 15:20.
• Tied at 20, Kentucky went on 13-2 run.
• Kentucky took its largest lead of the half at 38-26.
• Kentucky took a 38-29 lead into halftime.
  • Five players scored six points in the first half – Oweh, Aberdeen, Jelavic, Moreno and Dioubate. Jelavic led the rebounding with five.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
• Kentucky began the half with a 7-2 run, giving the Wildcats a 45-31lead and prompting a Missouri timeout at 17:40.
• Kentucky took its largest lead of 16 points, 53-37, at the 14:33 mark.
• Missouri went on a 20-7 run, coming within 60-57 at 8:36.
• Kentucky steadied to lead 67-60, but Missouri went on a 10-2 spurt to regain a 70-69 lead with 2:34 remaining.
• Two Aberdeen free throws at 2:06 put Kentucky back in the lead at 71-70.
• Kentucky defense forced an airball and Oweh drove for a short banker at 1:13.
• Kentucky defense forced a turnover with 51 seconds to go, and at the expiration of the shot clock, Aberdeen drove for a short jumper with 22 seconds left.
• Missouri missed a layup, Oweh rebounded, and made one free throw to make the score 76-70 with 12 seconds left.
• In the closing seconds, Missouri made two free throws and Aberdeen hit two free throws for the final margin.