Kentucky

Kentucky Falls to Georgia on Tuesday

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2026

Press Room

Otega Oweh tied his career high with 28 points, but Kentucky lost to Georgia 86-78 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) got 18 points from Collin Chandler and 14 from Denzel Aberdeen.

The Bulldogs scored 22 points off of 13 UK turnovers, while the Cats scored just nine points off of nine UGA miscues.

Georgia started the scoring with two free throws before Malachi Moreno dunked to tie the game. An Oweh three and a Aberdeen floater gave UK a 7-2 lead early. The Bulldogs would score to get within three, but Chandler hit a three-pointer to give Kentucky a 10-4 lead. Georgia answered with a three of its own to get back within three.

Brandon Garrison made two free throws to extend the lead to 12-7, but UGA hit a three to get within two. Oweh scored underneath to give the Cats a 14-10 lead, but the Bulldogs scored on a putback to cut the UK lead in half.

Oweh scored again extend the lead to four and a Jasper Johnson bucket made it 18-12. Georgia scored the next five before Andrija Jelavic scored on a dunk and Chandler hit a three to give the Cats a 23-17 lead. Two Moreno free throws stretched the lead to eight before the Bulldogs scored to cut the UK lead to 25-19.

An Oweh basket extended the UK lead to eight, but Georgia scored the next three to cut the deficit to 27-22. Oweh scored at the rim to extend the lead to seven, but the Bulldogs scored seven in a row to tie the game at 29-29.

Aberdeen scored in the lane to stop the run, but Georgia scored the next five to complete a 12-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 34-31 lead. Jelavic scored at the rim to get UK within one, but UGA answered with a bucket of their own. Oweh made one free throw, but the Bulldogs hit a three just before the halftime buzzer and Georgia took a 39-34 lead into the break.

Georgia hit a three to start the second-half scoring, but Oweh answered with a three of his own to cut the deficit back to five. A Chandler three got the Cats within two, but the Bulldogs hit a three on their end and extended their lead to 45-40.

Oweh hit another three to get UK within two, but the Bulldogs scored to lead 47-43. Oweh then converted a three-point play to get the Cats within one but Georgia hit a three to lead 50-46. Oweh scored another bucket to cut the deficit to two but the Bulldogs hit two free throws to again lead by four.

Johnson hit a three to get UK within one, but Georgia responded with a three to lead 55-51. After the Bulldogs went one-of-two at the line, Mo Dioubate made one-of-two to cut the deficit to 56-52. A Chandler three got the Cats within one but the Bulldogs scored the next 10 points, taking a 66-55 lead in the process.

Oweh scored on the baseline to end the run, but Georgia responded with a three to lead by 12. A Chandler three cut the deficit to 69-60 and an Aberdeen free throw got UK within eight. After a Georgia basket, Aberdeen hit a three and Moreno scored in the lane to get the Cats within five, 71-66. Georgia scored but Chandler his sixth three of the night to cut the deficit to 73-69.

Georgia scored the next five to lead by nine, but Oweh scored on a three-point play to get the Cats within six, 78-72. The Bulldogs hit a three to lead by nine, but Aberdeen scored six in a row to get UK within three, 81-78. Georgia responded by scoring the next five to seal the win.

Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, visiting Auburn for an 8:30 p.m. tip. The game can be seen on ESPN.

Source link

Related Topics:Featured headlines men s basketball

Click to comment

Kentucky

No. 2 seed Iowa State shuts down No. 7 Kentucky in 82-63 NCAA tourney victory

Published

12 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

No. 2 seed Iowa State shuts down No. 7 Kentucky in 82-63 NCAA tourney victory

ST. LOUIS — Tamin Lipsey knew he had to step up for Iowa State with All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sitting on the bench, his sprained left ankle still encased in a boot, as the Cyclones played Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Lipsey, who grew up in the shadows of the Iowa State campus in Ames, answered with the finest game of his four-year career.

The senior guard poured in a career-high 26 points, tied a career high with 10 assists, and led a suffocating defense that shut down the Wildcats in the second half, allowing the second-seeded Cyclones to pull away for an 82-63 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

“All the guys knew we had to step up in different ways,” Lipsey said, “however that presented to us.”

Lipsey didn’t do it alone, of course — he needed someone scoring to pile up all those assists. Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Nate Heise, getting the start in Jefferson’s place, added 12 to help the Cyclones (29-7) advance to a Midwest Region semifinal against either third-seeded Virginia or No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago.

It will be the eighth Sweet 16 trip for the Cyclones and the third under T.J. Otzelberger, though the question now is whether they will be whole for it. Jefferson, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is scheduled to have an MRI exam on Monday.

“We’ll see how that goes and take it from there,” Otzelberger said.

Kentucky (22-14) jumped to a 20-9 lead in the opening minutes Sunday before Iowa State fought back to take a 31-30 halftime lead.

The Wildcats were still within 46-40 with 13½ minutes to play when the Cyclones forced three of the Wildcats’ 20 turnovers in quick succession. They converted all three into baskets at the other end, part of a decisive 13-1 run, which not only allowed Iowa State to seize control but also seemed to finally deflate Kentucky.

The Wildcats had been buzzing after a buzzer-beater from Otega Oweh forced overtime in a first-round victory over Santa Clara.

“We had a tough time finding baskets and more importantly we had a real tough time getting a stop,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “They shot 50 percent in the second half from 3, and they played really well. You’re not going to win games when you give up 51 in the second half, and there’s a lot of reasons that happened.”

Oweh followed up his 35-point performance against the Broncos with 18 against the Cyclones, playing most of the second half in foul trouble. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 20 points, though the pair of guards didn’t get a whole lot more help.

“We didn’t play fully hard for the full 40 minutes,” Aberdeen said, “and we had to do a better job.”

For two teams that can score in bunches, there was little elegance for much of their first matchup since the 2012 NCAA tourney, when the Wildcats beat Iowa State in the second round on their way to winning the national championship.

The Cyclones missed their first 11 tries from beyond the 3-point arc. Kentucky had 12 turnovers in the first half.

“We got a little disoriented,” Pope said, “and that’s what Iowa State does. They increased their pressure and we turned it over 12 times in the first half, and kind of contributed to our own demise.”

Iowa State eventually began driving to the basket and picking up fouls, and generated offense from the free-throw line until its shots started to fall. That began just before the break, and Heise’s buzzer-beating 3 gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage.

They went on to outscore Kentucky 51-33 after halftime to coast into the semifinals of the Midwest Region.

“We knew we had to be at our best. I’m proud of our guys,” Otzelberger said. “Felt like the game didn’t start the way we’d like but on defense, our pressure as the game wore on paid dividends for us. We generated turnovers and scored off our defense.”

Up next

Iowa State and Virginia have split four previous meetings, though the Cavaliers won the most recent matchup and the only one in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers cruised 84-71 in the Sweet 16 on March 25, 2016, before losing to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.

The Cyclones beat Tennessee during the 1969 season but they’ve lost the last two to the Volunteers, the first during a tournament in December 1977 and the most recent on January 27, 2018, during the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

Source link

Kentucky

Who is Otega Oweh’s brother of Kentucky basketball star?

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Who is Otega Oweh’s brother of Kentucky basketball star?

Kentucky basketball will be back in action on Sunday in the Round of 32 against Iowa State thanks to the heroics of guard Otega Oweh.

Oweh hit the game-tying buzzer-beater against Santa Clara in the first round, sending the game to overtime. The Wildcats ultimately won 89-84.

The back-to-back Second Team All-SEC selection comes from an athletic family. His brother, Odafe Oweh, plays in the NFL, recently signing a free agent deal with the Washington Commanders. Oweh played college football at Penn State, and he was a first-round pick in 2021.

He previously played for the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, earning All-Rookie Team honors in 2021.

The younger Oweh led Kentucky to the Sweet 16 last season, and thanks to his clutch shot on Friday, UK is playing for a shot at a return trip to the tournament’s second weekend.

This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Who is Otega Oweh’s brother who plays in NFL?

Source link

Kentucky

Game time set for Iowa State vs. Kentucky in March Madness second round

Published

2 days ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Game time set for Iowa State vs. Kentucky in March Madness second round

Iowa State men’s basketball will play Kentucky in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday, March 22.

The No. 2-seed Cyclones (28-7) are coming off a 108-74 win over Tennessee State. The No. 7-seed Wildcats (22-13) are coming off a thrilling 89-84 win over No. 10-seed Santa Clara, which featured a buzzer-beating logo 3-pointer by Kentucky to send the game into overtime.

Check below for the need-to-know game information for Iowa State’s first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament:

Buy Iowa State NCAA tournament tickets vs. Kentucky