Superstar Otega Oweh Saves Kentucky as Cats Overcome Santa Clara 89-84 in OT
- Mar 20
- 4 min read
By Jamie H. Vaught
KySportsStyle.com Magazine
If you were looking for a good example of a March Madness game, the Kentucky-Santa Clara's NCAA Tournament contest Friday afternoon in St. Louis would be on the list.
With UK falling behind at 73-70 with 2.4 seconds left after an apparent game-winning three-pointer by freshman Allen Graves of Santa Clara, senior Otega Oweh, the team's leading scorer, ran and made a miraculous half-court buzzer-beater to send the thrllling matchup to overtime.
And the No. 7 seed Wildcats outscored the No. 10 seed Broncos 16-11 in overtime, winning 89-84, to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UK, now 22-13, will play the winner of No. 2 seed Iowa State and No. 15 Tennessee State game on Sunday.
Oweh took the game's scoring honors with a career-high 35 points. The 6-foot-4 guard also had a game-high seven assists along with eight rebounds. Oweh also set a school record, passing Bill Spivey for the most points scored in a UK player's first two seasons with the program.
"I was just trying to get the ball out quick and get as close as I can to the goal," said Oweh of his game-tying basket in regulation. "I was looking at the clock the whole time. Obviously they hit a three, so we had to hit a three. So, I was really just trying to get a shot off and just not wanting the season to end, just locking in, trying to make the shot."
Added Kentucky junior Mouhamed Dioubate, "I was just praying for it to go in. I was about to cry if he missed that shot. Yeah, I was just hoping the shot went in. I didn't want the season to end already. We love being around each other every day. So, I was just thinking this can't be the moment where -- once he made it we were so happy."
UK coach Mark Pope praised Oweh's stunning performance.
"I've been really blessed as a coach to watch Otega do this over and over and over again," said the UK coach. "I don't know what his game-winning shot per year number is, but it's pretty impressive. So, I was nervous with the trajectory, but then when it hit the glass in exactly the right spot, I'm like, oh, this is beautiful. It's awesome."
Commented Oweh, "The game is going to give us a lot of ups and downs and stuff that we can't really control, but we just gotta respond and we just found a way to respond. So we're not done playing yet."
The tight game, which saw 20 lead changes and tied 12 times, had lots of hall of famer Rick Pitino flavor as both coaches have strong connections to Kentucky and Pitino. Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek spent six years as an assistant coach at Providence (two years) and UK (four years) under Pitino, while Pope served as a captain of Pitino's 1996 national championship team at UK. And Sendek once recruited teenage Pope to come to the Bluegrass.
Sendek said his four years at Kentucky "was magic. Coach Pitino often refers to Kentucky as Camelot. And there's a lot of truth to that. It is not like that everywhere else. If any of you are native Kentuckians and that is your sole experience, I assure you Big Blue Nation is one of a kind."
After the tournament loss, Sendek just completed his 10th year at Santa Clara. He was named the 2025-26 West Coast Conference (WCC) Coach of the Year, marking his fourth different conference to earn the honor. He joins an elite group, including Pitino and Dana Altman, as one of only three coaches in NCAA Division I history to win Coach of the Year honors at four different schools, including Miami (OH), NC State, Arizona State, and Santa Clara.
After Santa Clara's apparent game-winning field goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation, Sendek attempted to call a timeout.
"I unequivocally called timeout. But they didn't grant it," Sendek said of the officials. "I mean, I think the video evidence is clear. And anybody is able to pull it up. So, you know, it is a likely response after Allen hits the three that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do, and I was successful in doing, other than it wasn't acknowledged or recognized. And so that's what happened."
According to the rules, the coach was too late to call a timeout since Kentucky already had the ball immediately after the Graves' basket.
On setting a school record for most points scored in his first two years at Kentucky, Oweh said, "I mean, that's crazy. Just gotta thank God. He get all the glory because I didn't expect this to happen at all in these past two years. It's been life changing. It's a testament to the guys that are around me. That wouldn't have happened without them. They get me open. Just having the utmost energy for me and happy whenever I succeed. That wouldn't have happened without my teammates last year and my teammates this year. So, I'm just thankful for them."
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of seven books about UK basketball, including newly published “Unforgettable Journey with the Cats: Inside Kentucky Hoops Madness.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro, he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle44@gmail.com.
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