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It was the kind of game Otega Oweh routinely had during the 2024-25 season — 22 points on 10 of 17 shooting, five assists, five steals, three rebounds and one blocked shot.
That’s what he did in Saturday night’s 92-68 win over Mississippi State after UK had started SEC play 0-2.
“He’s a great player. He’s an all-league caliber player,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “I think he was preseason player of the year if I’m not mistaken. He got it out of the court tonight.”
Yes, he was SEC preseason player of the year and he’s starting to play that way as he has scored at least 20 points in three straight games and 20 or more in five of the last seven games. More importantly, his defense and intensity have been at a consistently higher level than earlier in the season.
“He’s really trying to step up,” coach Mark Pope said on the UK Radio Network postgame show. “He was great in terms of his own game. And I think he’s finding moments to take on a little bit of a leadership role, which we desperately need.
“You think about Otega Oweh, we can’t take for granted — he’s 10 for 17 from the field, 22 points, five assists, five steals, three rebounds. It’s really, really impressive and he’s a terrific player.”
Oweh has scored in double figures all 16 games — the same type of scoring he provided a year ago. He’s been scoring in transition but also hitting 3-pointers and is now hitting 37 percent from 3 this season.
He’s also had nine steals in the last two games. He has 11 games with two or more steals.
“How magical is he shooting the gap, man?” Pope said. “He is a pick-six wizard, actually, and he’s been really consistent in every game all season long. So he’s great.”
Kentucky fell behind by 12 points early before unleashing the offense to turn the game into a rout.
“We just have to really focus on making plays for teammates. I feel like everyone eats, everyone does well. That’s going to catapult us to a different level. So I think going into the game really focused on making plays for teammates. On top of that, having high intensity on defense.”
Oweh missed significant time during the summer and preseason with a foot injury but seems to be back playing at the same high level he did last season when he considered entering the NBA draft.
“I was just me getting my foot back, just the more I’m out there, I feel like I’m going to get better every single game,” Oweh said. “On top of that being super intentional every single game. Knowing what I should do or know what is going to help this team get better.”
Getting a SEC win also helped.
“I feel like BBN has just been waiting to cheer for something positive, so just glad that we could. We did that tonight,” Oweh said after the win.
10 Responses
Oweh, Moreno, and Williams all had excellent games. It didn't start out that way because we were trying to play hero ball AGAIN. Lowe getting hurt and leaving the game early opened the door to team play again. We started passing the ball and that seemed to engage our defense too. When we keep the ball moving with us moving too, we find the breakdowns in the opposing defense. Shots become open. Lanes to the basket are not as congested. Moreno was a very capable passer. Garrison tried to be, but forced too many passes into turnovers…oh, and he horsed up a 3 pointer for good measure. Aberdeen finally started passing the ball in the second half, and surprise surprise…the ball came back to him for open shots. If Aberdeen will just trust that will happen all of the time, we will be a much better team as he will be our default point guard now. Lowe is done for the season and will enter the transfer portal. Johnson needs to get more PT at the point too as Aberdeen actually plays better off the ball.
Playing at LSU will likely pressure us into playing hero ball again and if we do we will lose. If we keep our heads and trust each other, keep moving and keep the ball moving, and only take the shots that are open…we can win that game. The best 5 man unit we had in the second half was Aberdeen at the point with Johnson in relief, Oweh at the 2 with Aberdeen in relief, Williams at the 3 with Chandler in relief, Jelavic at the 4 with Williams in relief, and Moreno at the 5 with Jelavic in relief. Thankfully, Jelavic finally got out of Pope's doghouse and it made a difference in how we played. Noah finally made a 20 second appearance before being ordered back into the doghouse…we will need Noah providing relief minutes if we are going to try to salvage this season…Pope has made his point, now it's time to move on. There is no way we beat LSU, Tennessee, and Texas without some help from Noah.
It appeared Noah was limping when he came back out of the game. Hopefully not a serious injury.
I agree Oweh has been on a tear. He's also shooting 37% from 3. Last year he shot 35% from 3. I said if he can get his 3 point percentage up to 37-38% that will help the rest of his offense. He is back to playing great defense he had two more steals that they called him for fouls on that were clean steals as well. So he should have had about 7 steals thats remarkable and that's what I expected from him this year. Not 7 steals but great defense. The best on the team out of all the guards on defense. Williams has also stepped his game up the last couple of games. He needs a little more playing time. I would give Williams some of Mo-Ds minutes. We play better with him not on the floor. To me he looks more lazy compared to last year at Alabama but that's what happens when you are given a lot of money to early. Now he doesn't feel like he has to work for it. Jelavic looked pretty good out there too. He's a better rebounder than Garrison and he's better on offense than Garrison and Mo-D. Moreno also played a incredible game. I'm more excited about his future than anyone else on the team. Everyone thought Moreno would be the last one off the bench and Johnson would play before him but he's proving everyone wrong. I do believe next year he will be a dominating big man. He should be a 13/10 type of guy next year. What really impresses me the most with Jelavic and Moreno is they always look to pass first. That shows a great teammate. They always are looking for the open man. Pope needs to figure out these lineups to get the most out of his team. Otherwise it's going to be a long season. I know we went on a major run with Mo-D on the bench.
Jelly got out of the doghouse because Mo moved in.
Mo was pouting big time in the second half.
He also was mouthing at Pope the last time he was taken out. I think Jelly played the rest of the way after that.
Oweh is also 140 points shy of the 1,000 point club at Kentucky and is about to be among some of the best getting to the 1,000 point club in only two years here. From what history tells us about guys who get over 1,000 points in two years at Kentucky always have great NBA careers. Antonio Reeves was the last wildcat to accomplish this feat. He's playing pretty good ball in the NBA. I always knew he was good scorer.
Lowe is done for the year; Aberdeen and Johnson are our point guards.
Is it for SURE that Lowe is going in the portal for next year?
When we were playing hero ball, opposing defenses could key on Oweh and he struggled with that. When we move the ball from side to side, the defense can't move fast enough to do that.
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