Mark Pope liked Otega Oweh's response defensively in Loyola win: 'Welcome back, my friend'

Early into the 2025-26 season, Otega Oweh hasn’t looked like the Otega Oweh the Big Blue Nation came to love last season, but according to his head coach, he took a step in getting back to being that guy during Kentucky’s blowout win over Loyola (MD) on Friday night.

It came on the defensive side, however.

Everyone knows Oweh can score in double-figures in his sleep (he did it again with 11 points against the Greyhounds, reaching double-digits in all six games played this season), but Mark Pope has been wanting to see more from him on the other end of the floor.

“We saw a couple possessions of Otega Oweh defense that we haven’t seen,” Pope said after Kentucky’s 88-46 win. “The passion and commitment defensively. That’s where he’s gonna build his game. I felt like, welcome back, my friend. Let’s go with that, where you just refuse to let anybody get by you. You don’t need any help on a ball screen or a stack or anything else because you’re just so physical dealing with it.

“That guy is our guy. Him finding that a little bit, maybe for the first time all season, meant a lot to me. He had a couple of good moments tonight, and we got to grow them. We got to grow them. He will, because he’s a big-time player. He’s just gonna figure it out.”

On the stat sheet, Oweh posted a season-high three steals against Loyola in his 24 minutes. Pretty much every Wildcat had impressive moments against lowly Loyola, but Pope believes this was an important stepping stone for his star guard. It’s no secret that Oweh did not perform up to expectations earlier this week when Michigan State ran the ‘Cats out of Madison Square Garden.

“I think he took it personally,” Pope said of Oweh’s poor showing against the Spartans.

Oweh looked to be in a much better space on Friday night in front of the home fans. Along with his 11 points (5-9 FG) and three steals, he added five rebounds and a pair of assists to his stat line. He was more vocal on the floor, making sure to get on Brandon Garrison when he tossed a ball out of bounds that could have led to easy points — even when Kentucky was up by 20-plus. Stepping up as a leader is something he says he continues to improve every day.

Loyola was not a proper opponent for Kentucky, but given the events of the last 10 or so days, a 42-point win still felt good. This group is already dealing with real adversity just six games into the season. Friday’s win was a way of beginning to overcome it, not only for Oweh, but for the rest of the team as they continue to work through the process together.

“When things are going well, it’s easy to be happy, easy to be joyful,” Oweh said. “But when shit hit the fan, you have to turn to your brothers and really lean in.”

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