Otega Oweh showed off his playmaking skills in Kentucky’s final non-conference game of the season.

The senior guard dished out a career-high 10 assists in the Wildcats’ 99-85 win over Bellarmine on Tuesday. It was the highest assist mark for a Kentucky player this season, and the most of Oweh’s four-year college tenure by four (his previous high of six assists came in last season’s NCAA Tournament win over Troy).

Being an improved playmaker was a goal of his going into 2025-26, and he’s taken steps in that area through 13 games. Oweh is averaging 2.8 assists per game this season, a positive development compared to his 1.7 assists per outing last season.

“I thought Otega being a 10 assists guy, I would like that to happen every game for the rest of the year too,” Head coach Mark Pope said postgame. “I thought that was absolutely fantastic. He’s been trying to find some space to be a MP4T (Make Plays For Teammates) guy. He did it by getting downhill and making plays for guys. He did it by being a quick-turn guy, which is an underrated area of expertise that guys can excel in. I thought he was really good that way.”

With Jaland Lowe sitting out against Bellarmine to rest his injured shoulder, his absence opened the opportunity for other Kentucky guards to make plays. Jasper Johnson filled that role nicely, posting 11 points and seven assists. Denzel Aberdeen chipped in four assists, with Collin Chandler adding three of his own. But Oweh was especially focused on picking apart the Bellarmine zone defense.

Oweh’s 10 assists — seven of them coming after halftime — generated 24 points for Kentucky. He set up Mo Dioubate four times for shots in the paint. Three of Kam Williams‘ eight three-pointers came via an Oweh pass. These weren’t fancy no-look passes or anything, either — just the right, simple play for his teammates. After three first-half turnovers, Oweh settled in and responded to what the defense was showing him.

And if you were wondering, Oweh still hit the 10-point mark, extending his streak of reaching double-digit scoring in every game played this season. He also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds against Bellarmine, nearly posting a triple-double in his 33 minutes of action. Two more steals to his stat line have him at eight straight games with at least a pair of thefts. Oweh was also a team-high +14 in the box score.

Put that entire line together (10 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and two steals), and Oweh became just the second-ever Wildcat to post those figures in a single game. The other? De’Aaron Fox, who did so vs. Arizona State on Nov. 28, 2016. That’s pretty good company to be in. Oweh knew during the game how close he was to reaching the triple-double, but he’ll gladly take the win as a consolation prize.

“I just wanted to come in and play hard, have a lot of energy,” Oweh said. “I was short (on the triple-double), though.”