Wednesday night’s matchup between Oklahoma and Kentucky at the Lloyd Noble Center was packed with subplots: former Sooner Otega Oweh returned to Norman, Oklahoma natives Brandon Garrison and Jaxson Robinson came back to their home state, Robinson and Lamont Butler returned from injury for the Wildcats, and former Dayton roommates Kobe Elvis and Koby Brea faced off.

All of that aside, this was a game Oklahoma needed. But then, Oweh happened.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-8 lead early, but Jalon Moore had something to say (literally), going on an 8-0 run by himself to make it a three-point game. From that point forward, the first half was a battle, with Kentucky ultimately taking a slim 43-41 lead into halftime.

Then, Oweh went nuclear—scoring 21 of Kentucky’s final 23 points, including several clutch baskets down the stretch. None, however, was more devastating than the acrobatic layup he finished at the rim to seal the Wildcats’ 83-82 victory. Oweh finished with 28 points and six rebounds on 12-of-21 shooting.

This heartbreaking loss drops Oklahoma to 17-11 (4-11) and puts them in a tough spot, likely needing to win two of their final three games to secure an NCAA Tournament bid. It’s not just the loss that stings—it’s the way it happened. Another winnable game slipped away, with former Sooner Oweh carrying Kentucky to the finish line and Oklahoma native Garrison making key plays down the stretch.

Here’s the Report Card from the loss:

It’s no secret that Kentucky thrives from behind the arc, with elite shooters like Jaxson Robinson and Koby Brea. The Wildcats rank among the top 20 nationally in three-point shooting, but both teams also rank in the top 20 in three-point defense, setting up a battle from deep.

Kentucky won that battle early, hitting 5-of-13 (38.5%) from beyond the arc in the first half. The surprising factor was Brandon Garrison, who had made fewer than 10 career three-pointers but went a perfect 2-for-2 from deep. Outside of those two shots and one from Brea, Oklahoma’s perimeter defense held up well in the first half.

The problem was that the Sooners simply weren’t hitting their own shots. They went just 3-of-12 (25%) from three in the first half, which made it even more impressive that they trailed by only two at the break. But in the second half, they flipped the script. Oklahoma caught fire, shooting 7-of-13 (53.8%) from deep.

In the end, the Sooners won the battle from behind the arc. That makes this one-point loss even tougher to swallow.

Then, with 59.6 seconds to go, Oklahoma held a slim 80-79 lead as Kentucky had possession. Oweh had been doing damage all second half, and once again, he delivered—finishing at the rim to put the Wildcats up 81-80 with 45 seconds left. And when it came time for the final punch? No surprise—it was Oweh.

Oklahoma has suffered plenty of late-game collapses under Porter Moser, but this one wasn’t on him. Sure, there were a few missteps, but there were no outright coaching blunders that cost them the game. This was simply a case of one player making clutch plays when it mattered most.

The one critique? Maybe you force someone else to beat you. Maybe you put Moore on Oweh. But when Kentucky has two seven-footers on the floor, you need Moore guarding one of them. In the end, the late-game execution wasn’t disastrous—but the fact that Oweh got whatever he wanted and Oklahoma still couldn’t close it out? That stings.

In the first half, Jalon Moore put up 12 points and three rebounds on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the arc. His scoring came at a crucial time, as he single-handedly went on an 8-0 run when Kentucky had its largest first-half lead and the Sooners couldn’t buy a bucket.

Moore continued making big plays in the second half, but he also missed a few open looks that Oklahoma will be replaying in their minds. Even so, he had a strong outing and brought the same energy that Otega Oweh played with.

He finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 2-of-7 from deep, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, adding six rebounds in 34 minutes.

The first play of the game for the Sooners resulted in a Fears assist to Sam Godwin, something we saw quite a bit on Saturday. That was a good sign, but so was the last few minutes of the first half when Fears hit a turnaround bucket to take the lead and then a layup at the buzzer to cut the lead to just two at halftime.

In the second half, Fears made multiple huge baskets, but ultimatley was blocked at the rim with the game on the line. However, Fears did what you want him to do in that situation, got downhill and got a shot at the rim.

He ended with 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four turnovers on 7-18 shooting from the field, 0-3 shooting from behind the arc, and 4-6 shooting from the free throw line in 37 minutes. It was another solid game from Fears.

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