On Wednesday night, the Sooners secured an 81-75 win over Georgia, advancing to the second round of the SEC Tournament where they faced Kentucky just 24 hours later.
With their NCAA Tournament hopes already solidified, Oklahoma continued its revenge tour, this time against a Wildcats team that edged them out by one point in Norman back in February in a game that ended in heated fashion.
Though technically a neutral site, Big Blue Nation turned the arena into a road environment for the Sooners, and Kentucky fed off the energy early, jumping out to an 8-0 run in the first two minutes.
Oklahoma weathered the storm, settled in, and eventually took the lead. Despite shooting just 4-15 (26.7 percent) from behind the arc and dealing with frontcourt foul trouble from Mohamed Wague, the Sooners trailed only 40-38 at halftime.
The second half remained a back and forth battle until Kentucky strung together a quick 6-0 run, taking a 54-48 lead with 13:03 remaining. Fortunately for the Sooners, the Wildcats could not create much separation, and Oklahoma clawed back to make it a 66-65 game with 6:58 left to play.
Then Otega Oweh took over. He led Kentucky on an 11-0 run, pushing the Wildcats’ lead to 77-65 with 4:30 remaining. It looked like they would close it out, but Jeremiah Fears and the Sooners had other plans.
Oklahoma trailed by six with 41 seconds left when Fears drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 83-80. On the next possession, he stole the ball from Andrew Carr and found Jalon Moore for a dunk, making it a one-point game.
Then Fears came up with another steal and converted a driving layup at the rim, giving Oklahoma an improbable 84-83 lead after trailing by six just moments earlier.
With six seconds left, the Wildcats had one final chance and Oweh delivered. He drove downhill, attacked the rim through three defenders, and finished to lift Kentucky to an 85-84 win in an SEC Tournament classic.
– Fears scored 29 points to lead the Sooners to a win over Georgia 24 hours prior to this game against Kentucky. He shot the ball well from deep in that game, making four three-pointers, but that success didn’t carry over into the first half against the Wildcats.
He shot just 1-8 from three in the opening 20 minutes but still managed 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and only one turnover. In the second half, he found his rhythm, scoring 16 points and dishing out three assists on 5-9 shooting.
Fears finished with 28 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals, and just one turnover. He shot 10-22 from the field, 2-11 from deep, and 6-7 from the free throw line. His final minute — featuring a three-pointer, two steals, an assist, two free throws, and a go-ahead layup — was incredible but unfortunately overshadowed by Oweh’s game-winner.
– Jalon Moore posted 12 points and seven rebounds on 5-14 shooting from the field and 2-3 from deep. He was quiet for most of the night but delivered clutch buckets down the stretch.
– Mohamed Wague struggled with foul trouble in the first half but still managed to play 17 minutes, finishing with nine points and six rebounds on 3-4 shooting. Glenn Taylor also posted nine points, shooting 3-5 from the field and 2-3 from deep. Luke Northweather stepped up off the bench when Wague was in foul trouble, scoring six points and knocking down two three-pointers.
– Oklahoma has been playing its best basketball of the season lately, and a big reason for that is the surge from Kobe Elvis. He had a strong first half, scoring 10 points on 3-5 shooting from the field and 1-2 from deep.
Elvis finished with 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds on 4-9 shooting from the field and 1-4 from deep.
– His former teammate, Koby Brea, had a strong night for Kentucky, posting 22 points and four rebounds on 8-12 shooting from the field and 4-7 from three. But it was the man who has now hit two game-winners against Oklahoma — Oweh — who led the way for the Wildcats with 27 points, five assists, and four rebounds on 8-14 shooting.
– Now, the Sooners, who have undoubtedly done enough to make the NCAA Tournament, will wait to hear their name called for the first time in the Porter Moser era on Sunday. As of now, they could land anywhere from safely in the field to the First Four in Dayton — making this loss sting even more.
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