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Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY – The ‘Cats defeated the Oklahoma Sooners late on Wednesday night by a score of 94-78 at Rupp Arena in front of an energetic home crowd. Oklahoma native Brandon Garrison led the charge for the ‘Cats with the best game of his Kentucky career. He finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while former Oklahoma Sooner Otega Oweh contributed a game-high 24-points. The duo combined for 34 second half points as the ‘Cats collected their 7th win in their last 8 games and moving to 7-3 in conference play. The ‘Cats crashed the boards as they outrebounded Oklahoma 41 to 25 to go along with 21 assists on 30 made field goals. The ‘Cats played a fairly well-rounded game and felt as though they controlled the pace of the game for the majority. The ‘Cats look ahead to this upcoming Saturday as they take on the No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers while debuting throwback 1996 denim jerseys in front of the home Rupp Arena crowd.
Pre-Game Overview:
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, Andrija Jelavic, and Malachi Moreno
The spread for Wednesday nights game was -8.5 (Kentucky) and the Over/Under was set at 152.5.
Game Recap:
First Half
The Sooners won the opening tip of the ballgame. The ‘Cats created two early deflections on their first defensive possession but the Sooners retained the ball. Davis scored the first basket of the game for the Sooners. Aberdeen nailed the first three of the game for the ‘Cats. Davis hit a mid-range jumper for the Sooners at the end of the shot clock. Aberdeen missed the second attempted three and then committed a shooting foul on the other end. Brown hit both free-throws for a 6-3 Oklahoma lead. Jelavic nailed a corner three for Kentucky to tie the game. Reid hit a close shot in the paint and then Oweh was fouled on a drive to the rim. He hit 1 of 2 free-throws. Jelavic nailed another three at the top of the key to tie the game at 10. The game was tied at 10 at the first media timeout with 15:53-minutes to play. Aberdeen nailed a deep logo distance three at the end of the shot clock to give the ‘Cats a 13-11 lead. Davis responded with a bucket at the rim. Garrison threw the ball 5 feet over Chandlers head, who was open in the corner for a Kentucky turnover. Oweh slashed to the rim for a slam on the baseline. Forsythe nailed the first three of the game for the Sooners to give Oklahoma a 18-15 lead. Dioubate was fouled cutting to the basket and hit both free-throws. Johnson nailed a step-back three for the ‘Cats. Dioubate made a solid move in the paint and scored at the rim as the ‘Cats took a 22-20 lead with 10:02-minutes to play. Chandler connected with Garrison for a slam with an outstanding pass. Brown responded with a deep three for Oklahoma. Garrison was fouled on a putback attempt and went to the line. He hit both free-throws. Moreno walked with an isolation possession in the post to turn it over for Kentucky. The ‘Cats led 26-25 with 7:47-minutes to play in the first half. Johnson hit a floater off the backboard after good ball movement from the ‘Cats in transition. Pack hit a three to tie the game at 28 after a few failed Kentucky possessions. Chandler responded with a three. Moreno was fouled at the rim. He hit 1 of 2 at the line. Oweh pulled up for a three and nailed the ‘Cats 7th of the game. Forsythe hit two free-throws for the Sooners. Chandler ended a big gap in scoring for both teams with a deep transition three to push the ‘Cats lead to 38-32. Chandler nailed another three in a defenders face. The ‘Cats got a stop then Dioubate scored at the rim. The ‘Cats took a 43-32 lead into the half, ending the first half on a 8-0 run in the last 2-minutes of action.
The ‘Cats were on fire on the offensive side of the ball in the first half, shooting 47% from the field and 56% (9 of 16) from beyond the arc. They also distributed the ball well, assisting on 11 of 14 made field goals in the half. Chandler led the team in scoring with 9 first half points. Eight different ‘Cats scored in the first half as well.
Halftime: Kentucky 43 – Oklahoma 32
Second Half
The ‘Cats got off to a fiery start to the second half, with Oweh leading the charge. The ‘Cats pulled out to a 55-36 lead in just 3-minutes of action into the second half. The ‘Cats led 55-38 at the first media timeout of the second half. Oweh contributed a quick 7 points to begin the half. Garrison scored over the smaller defender on the next Kentucky possession, The ‘Cats led 57-43 with 14:06-minutes to play. Pack nailed a three for the Sooners. Garrison nailed a mid-pain floater. Oweh took a rebound and went coast-to-coast for an easy score to make the score 61-46 Kentucky. Atak hit a three for the Sooners. Jelavic was rewarded the basket for goaltending. Garrison collected the ball and scored with the foul. He hit the free-throw to make it 66-51 Kentucky. Chandler scored off a screen but Brown answered with a three. Garrison hit two free-throws and then Oweh drove and scored. The ‘Cats led 74-60 at the under 8-minute media timeout. Garrison again scored in the paint. Chandler nailed a three for the ‘Cats with the clock winding down to make it 79-65 ‘Cats. Davis responded with an and-one conversion. Oweh then answered back with a corner three. Brown then immediately answered with a three for Oklahoma. The ‘Cats led 82-69 with 4:30-minutes to play. Brown nailed another three after a Oweh turnover. A Wague slam cut the ‘Cats lead to 8-points at 82-74. Garrison collected an offensive rebound and scored with a foul to make it 85-74 Kentucky. Oweh was fouled and went to the line and hit both free-throws. Garrison continued his season best play and ended the game with a signature technical foul as the ‘Cats went on to win the game by a score of 94-78.
Final: Kentucky 94 – Oklahoma 78
Game Stats:
Oklahoma FG %: 44% (34% 3PT – 11 of 32) (89% FT – 17 of 19)
Kentucky FG %: 50% (46% 3PT – 12 of 26) (81% FT – 22 of 27)
Rebounds: 41 – 25 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 21:6
Turnovers: UK (6), Oklahoma (6)
Bench Points: 32 – 20 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 9 – 6 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 16 – 11 Oklahoma
Paint Points: 30 – 26 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Otega Oweh – [(24 points) (3 rebounds) (3 assists)]
Brandon Garrison – [(20 points) (11 rebounds) (3 assists)]
Collin Chandler – [(18 points) (3 rebounds) (3 assists) (1 steal)]
Andrija Jelavic – [(9 points) (6 rebounds) (3 assists)]
Denzel Aberdeen – [(8 points) (2 rebound) (5 assists)]
Mouhamed Dioubate – [(7 points) (4 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 steals)]
Jasper Johnson – [(5 points) (2 rebounds) (1 assist)]
Malachi Moreno – [(3 points) (2 rebounds) (3 blocks)]
Trent Noah – [(2 rebounds) (1 block)]
Jayden Quaintance – [DNP Right Knee Swelling]
Kam Williams – [OUT with foot surgery]
Jaland Lowe – [OUT for the season with right shoulder surgery]
Next Game:
The Kentucky Wildcats (16-7, 7-3 SEC) will return to Lexington to take on the No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers (16-6, 6-3 SEC) on Saturday, February 7 at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
