Kentucky basketball escapes Oklahoma in SEC Tournament game, faces Alabama next
NASHVILLE — Kentucky basketball is back in the win column at the SEC Tournament. After one-and-done results in the event the past two years, UK held off Oklahoma thanks to Otega Oweh, who made the game-winning basket in the closing seconds of an 85-84 victory in a second-round matchup Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. It marked Kentucky’s first triumph in the conference tourney since 2022, when it vanquished Vanderbilt, 77-71, in a quarterfinal matchup in Tampa, Florida.
And the quarterfinals are where the Wildcats are now headed. Thanks to Thursday’s win, Kentucky (22-10), the 6-seed in this season’s tournament, set up a date with 3-seed Alabama; that game will tip off at approximately 9:30 p.m. Friday. Though UK led for more than 34 of the 40-minute game, Oklahoma rarely lost touch. The Wildcats’ largest lead was 12, which came with less than four minutes to play before the Sooners (20-13) once more trimmed the deficit and took the lead with less than a minute to play.
Trio powers Kentucky to victory Otega Oweh once again tortured his former team. Oweh had a game-high 28 points in the previous meeting between these two squads last month, when UK escaped with an 83-82 victory in Norman, Oklahoma. Included in that scoring outburst: the Wildcats’ final 18 points of the game, as well as the go-ahead basket in the waning moments.