As Kentucky basketball's Malchai Moreno hit the dagger to complete the comeback against the LSU Tigers on Wednesday night, 75-74, it also came with a major performance from Otega Oweh. With the Kentucky basketball team stunning LSU, there was even a shot that Oweh could have missed the game, as head coach Mark Pope speaks on his outing.
Pope would speak after the thrilling win, after Oweh recorded a game-high 21 points on six of 13 from the field, three of six from beyond the arc, to go along with four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. His outing was labeled as “heroic” by Pope, who said Oweh missed shootaround that morning due to being “so sick,” according to On3 Sports.
“You think about Otega,” Pope said. “You know, Otega Oweh, another heroic performance from him — and he couldn’t even make it to shootaround this morning. He was so sick.”
“He’s been really under the weather and just battled through it tonight,” Pope continued. “So there’s all those dynamics, but it’s a credit to these guys for staying in there and finding a way to do it.”
Kentucky basketball's Mark Pope shouts out Otega Oweh's leadership
The Kentucky basketball team had an amazing showcase against LSU, especially in the second half, where, trailing 38-22 at halftime, the Wildcats would score 53 points to take the win as Pope praised Oweh's leadership.
“There were 15 times in the second half where we could have folded — and there were more than that in the first,” Pope said. “But they just kept hammering away. I think Otega’s leadership was great, I think D.A.’s (Denzel Aberdeen’s) leadership was great. I thought we got a lot of great concerted efforts where our guys did a good job not paying attention to the scoreboard and just trying to continue to compete harder and harder.”
Senior guard Denzer Aberdeen, who had 17 points, would shout out Oweh after the game, crediting the way he got downhill and was “creating plays for his teammates.”
The Wildcats are 11-6 as they look to keep the momentum going against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.
