On Saturday, the Sooners secured a crucial 93-87 victory over No. 21 Mississippi State, with Jeremiah Fears leading the charge by recording the first double-double from a freshman against a ranked team since Trae Young, finishing with 27 points and 10 assists.

Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin also contributed significantly, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. Kobe Elvis provided valuable minutes off the bench, and Duke Miles showcased his hustle by diving for a loose ball, even at the cost of a few teeth.

Overall, despite a few blunders down the stretch, it was a solid performance from Porter Moser’s Sooners, who needed this win. With a record of 17-10 (4-10), Oklahoma needs to win two of their last four games to feel confident about their tournament chances. Those final four matchups include No. 17 Kentucky, Ole Miss (Away), No. 14 Missouri, and Texas (Away).

It all starts on Wednesday at 8:00 PM on SEC Network, as Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats (18-9, 7-7) come to town. The Wildcats are coming off a 96-83 loss to No. 4 Alabama on the road and previously defeated Vanderbilt 82-61 last Wednesday.

Here’s a look at what Kentucky brings to the table and what Oklahoma must do to secure a win that would be their seventh quad-1 victory and put them closer to a tournament berth.

The leading scorer for Kentucky is former Sooner Otega Oweh, who averages 15.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. Prior to their game against Alabama, Oweh had posted two consecutive 20-point performances. He has made significant strides in his scoring ability, though shooting remains a challenge for him. In the matchup against the Crimson Tide, he struggled, going 1-9 from the field and finishing with just 2 points. This season, Oweh is shooting 48.4% from the field and 33.9% from deep.

"He’s had a great year, phenomenal year, said Moser. "To have that double-figure scoring as long as he did in this league? Phenomenal. He’s having an all-league type of year."

Will it be weird facing a former player? Moser said it wouldn’t be. “I think a lot of him as a young man, Otega, great young man. It’s unfortunate with this business right now. It’s not going to be weird. We’re both competitors. He’s going to try to win, we’re going to try to win.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they will be without their second and third leading scorers. Jaxson Robinson, an Ada, Oklahoma native, has been sidelined since February 8th, averaging 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds. Additionally, Lamont Butler, who averages 12.5 points and 4.6 assists, has been out since February 11th.

In the games without Butler and Robinson — both crucial point guards — the Wildcats hold a 1-2 record, suffering losses to Texas and, most recently, Alabama. With both absent, Kentucky has had to lean heavily on freshman Travis Perry, who averages 2.7 points but has stepped up to average 8 points in his three starts.

Alongside Oweh, Amari Williams and Koby Brea have emerged as key players during this challenging stretch. Williams averages 11 points and excels on the boards, grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the country in defensive rebounding percentage. Brea, a former teammate of Kobe Elvis at Dayton, averages 10.9 points and boasts an impressive 44.6% shooting from beyond the arc on 5.8 attempts per game. Another player to watch is Andrew Carr, who averages 9.8 points and has scored in double figures with 17 and 11 in his last two games.

Additionally, Oklahoma City native Brandon Garrison, who visited Oklahoma during the transfer portal process before ultimately choosing the Wildcats, comes off the bench and averages 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Kentucky is an offense-driven team, ranking fifth in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. While they don’t excel in just one area offensively, they limit turnovers, have a top-15 effective field goal percentage, and shoot well from both three-point and two-point ranges.

Here’s a look at where Kentucky ranks nationally in various categories, from their top-five offensive efficiency to their struggles in forcing turnovers defensively.

As mentioned previously, Williams excels on the boards, grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game and ranking fifth in the country in defensive rebounding percentage. He’s capable of doing significant damage on the glass, especially considering Oklahoma’s struggles with rebounding.

“Amari is phenomenal with the ball. He’ll bring it up and start the Zoom action, five-out. They have tremendous spacing. Then they come in with Garrison, who can pass as well. When you have a 6-11 guy who can trigger your offense, can really pass, makes them really dangerous.”

Oklahoma’s bigs — Godwin, Mohamed Wague, and even Moore — will need to put a heavy emphasis on boxing out Williams and limiting second-chance opportunities for an already potent offense. Oklahoma needs this win, and giving the fifth-most efficient offense in the country extra possessions will make that extremely difficult.

Fears took home SEC Freshman of the Week honors after posting 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists against Florida, followed by 27 points, a career-high 10 assists, five rebounds, a steal, and a block against Mississippi State. It was also an incredibly efficient shooting week for Fears, as he shot 52.5% from the field and 45% from behind the arc on 13 attempts.

For Moser, one thing that stood out from Fears’ performance on Saturday was a simple play. “I just think, him and I watch tape one-on-one. I showed him, he hit the lane and three collapsed, and he kicked it. He made simple, which is the great play. He did that a ton in that game. That’s growth.

“That’s what veteran point guards, older guys understand. Like, hey, I hit the paint—right off the bat, Kobe’s first 3 was a kick from Jeremiah. He got him involved. He got Kobe going right away. He got Sam going right away. First play of the game, he got down. Getting Sam going right away, that was huge. Fears did all that, and I thought that was—he gives us a higher ceiling. Everyone on our team was excited, because they’re feeling it. They’re feeling his growth.”

The Sooners don’t just need their freshman point guard to score—they need his floor game to elevate his teammates. On Saturday, that’s exactly what happened, helping spark Godwin’s best game since Bedlam and one of Elvis’ strongest performances in conference play. Fears isn’t just a scorer—he makes those around him better. And that’s exactly what Oklahoma needs.

The Sooners got 28 minutes — his most since January 11th — and nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc from Elvis on Saturday. Not only have his minutes increased over the past two games, but his production has as well.

“For me, I thought it was his best defensive game,” said Moser. “That’s the biggest thing me and Kobe have talked about. I think he relieves pressure off Jeremiah, especially when Kobe is playing the right way. I thought Kobe was really efficient with his shots.”

Elvis acknowledged that Saturday was his best performance in a long time. “Very big for me, finding a way to get into the game and just impact it. That felt good to get out there, get myself going and be able to stay in the game.”

Seeing Elvis and Fears play together more has worked over the past two games—Oklahoma will need it to work again in this one.

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