owehkentucky.jpg
Getty

NASHVILLE --- The chant rang throughout Bridgestone Arena in the celebratory aftermath of No. 6 seed Kentucky's stunning 85-84 victory over No. 14 seed Oklahoma in the second round of the 2025 SEC Tournament.

It was like the "Olé, Olé, Olé" song so often heard at soccer games, except it came with a twist from thousands of Wildcats fans honoring the turncoat hero of Kentucky's first season under coach Mark Pope.

"Oweh, Oweh, Oweh Oweh," the tune went as Kentucky's star guard Otega Oweh and a coach he once competed against in the Big 12 soaked in a special moment together well after midnight following a made-for-March game that ended with a game-winning Oweh bucket in the final second.

They smiled, they waved, they pumped their fists and took it all in before running into the tunnel having seen lightning strike twice.

There are no greater heroes in Kentucky basketball at the moment than Oweh, a coveted prospect out of the transfer portal last offseason, and perhaps the coach who recruited him to UK after he spent his first two seasons with the Sooners.

But roughly 20 minutes earlier, before the chants of his name and the jubilation surrounding a cathartic postseason victory for the UK fans, Oweh was teetering on the brink of becoming the night's goat. 

First, he committed an ill-advised foul with 48 seconds left that allowed Oklahoma to whittle UK's lead to 81-77. Then, he dribbled the ball off his foot, which led to a turnover and a transition bucket for the Sooners.

But even after those miscues, Kentucky was still ahead 83-82 with under 20 seconds. Or, it was until Oweh, who was forced into point guard duties due to an injury to Lamont Butler, coughed it up again.

OU superstar freshman Jeremiah Fears capitalized on the turnover with a dagger of a shot to put Oklahoma ahead 84-83 with 5.6 seconds remaining. It looked like Kentucky was on the precipice of blowing a 10-point lead in the final two minutes and a six-point lead with less than 45 seconds left. 

Fears' shot sent a hush over the blue-clad crowd as painful memories of UK's 2-7 record over the past four postseasons bubbled to the surface. The Wildcats were suddenly on the precipice of a third straight one-and-done departure from the conference tournament, which it had once made a second home with Big Blue Nation's annual invasion of Broadway. 

It also looked like Oklahoma was going to secure the revenge it so desperately craved for an 83-82 home loss against Kentucky on Feb. 26. In that game, Oweh returned to his former home gym, received chants of "he's a traitor" and left with 28 points, including the game-winner with six seconds remaining.

He scored UK's final 18 points that night. On this night just over three weeks later, it seemed Fears would have the last laugh and that Oklahoma — not Kentucky. — would be securing the momentous March victory.

But just like he did in Norman, Oklahoma against his old team just over three weeks earlier, Oweh found a way.

The 6-foot-4 bowling ball of a shooting guard went the length of the floor in five seconds and willed his way to a game-winning basket with one of the exact attributes that Pope identified in him well before he was ever hired as Kentucky's coach.

"I had the unfortunate experience of playing against Otega in Oklahoma last year," said Pope, who was BYU's coach last season. "So you go through five games plus of scouting him. We got to know him really well during the season. He just is an elite, elite, elite level athlete and a terrific, terrific defensive player that can really get downhill. That's what we knew about him."

Oweh's downhill driving has been a significant factor in Kentucky's record-tying eight victories over top-15 opponents this season. He's reached double figures in all but two games for the Wildcats and established himself as a beloved figure in the process.

As Oweh trotted off the court Thursday, one fan clad in a "00" Oweh jersey quickly ripped it over his head and tried to dangle it down over the arena railing for an autograph. Oweh kept running and the fan kept smiling as the hero trotted past.

No hard feelings. He'd already given the Wildcats faithful plenty.

Kentucky's story remains unfinished. With second-leading scorer Jaxson Robinson out for the season with a wrist injury and Butler grappling anew with a lingering shoulder injury, there will be plenty heaped on Oweh's shoulders as the Wildcats navigate March.

But as he's shown against his former team now twice this season, where there's a will for Kentucky, there's Oweh.

Teammate Koby Brea likened Oweh's second-round of nail-biting heroics vs. Oklahoma to a movie's sequel.

Only, this one came with a plot twist that no one expected. The protagonist was part of a downfall, which made his comeback all the more spectacular. 

"If I just talk about the last play, you lose the greatness of the moment," Pope said. "The greatness of the moment is that Otega turned it over two times in a row in the last minute, blowing a 10-point lead, which I'm responsible for, he's responsible for, everybody is responsible for.

"What makes that moment so spectacular is he was somehow able, our team was somehow able, to move past the devastation of just kicking to the curb an emotional, hard-fought win and losing Lamont and all the things that came with that."

The sequence encapsulated Kentucky's first season under Pope. UK dropped four of five games to close January and open February, falling to 4-5 in conference play. Among the defeats was a stunning home loss to Arkansas and former coach John Calipari, who entered Rupp Arena with a 1-6 record and left with a season-changing victory.

Otega Oweh scores last shot again as No. 15 Kentucky sends Oklahoma home from 1st SEC Tourney
AP

As it turns out, Calipari isn't the only one having success against the team he was with last season.

Oweh has done it twice now for Kentucky.

"We totally messed this up, all of us, myself included," Pope said, "and then they still stayed present enough to make a game-winning play in the last five seconds. That's why that play is so special, right?

"That's why I couldn't be more proud of Otega and the whole team for doing that."