For the third straight game, Otega Oweh dropped at least 20 points, but Saturday night was the first time it resulted in a win for Kentucky. It came at a desperate time for the program, too.
In the Wildcats’ 92-68 blowout victory over Mississippi State, Oweh finished with 22 points (tying a season-high), five assists, five steals, and three rebounds in 32 minutes of action. It marked his fifth 20-point game of the season, all of them coming within the last seven contests. Despite a slower-than-expected start to the season, the senior guard has yet to dip under 10 points through Kentucky’s first 16 games.
It certainly feels like Oweh is beginning to hit his stride, the stride that had him viewed as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year coming into the season. The turf toe injury that kept him out of practice for over two months in the summer appears to be a thing of the past. He’s even more comfortable and confident than he was just a few weeks ago.
“He’s really trying to step up,” Head coach Mark Pope said of Oweh in his postgame radio hit with Tom Leach. “He was great in terms of his own game. And I think he’s finding moments to take on a little bit of a leadership role, which we desperately need. You think about Otega Oweh, we can’t take for granted — he’s 10 for 17 from the field, 22 points, five assists, five steals, three rebounds. It’s really, really impressive and he’s a terrific player.”
Especially over the last few games, Oweh has looked incredibly comfortable getting out in transition and bullying his way into the paint. That’s his bread and butter, and he’s leaning on it without doing too much.
“There’s no one that can stop him in the transition,” freshman center Malachi Moreno said.
Not only that, Oweh’s been hitting his threes at a good clip as of late, going 2-4 against the Bulldogs. He was 3-4 from deep in Wednesday’s loss to Missouri. The New Jersey native is now up to 36.7 percent on three-pointers this season.
Defensively, Oweh is staying in front of the other team’s best guards while timing his thievery perfectly. His five steals (one resulting in a windmill dunk) against Mississippi State marked a season-high, just one game after he recorded four steals against Mizzou. There were a couple of slip-ups off the ball, but overall, he’s been locked in on that end. He has 11 games this season with multiple steals.
“How magical is he shooting the gap, man?” Pope said of Oweh. “He is a pick-six wizard, actually, and he’s been really consistent in every game all season long. So he’s great.”
When Oweh is aggressive like he was on Saturday — and like he’s been in all three SEC games this season — he looks every bit like the All-American candidate he was lauded as in the preseason. Now it’s time to start stacking some wins alongside his improving individual play.