Otega Oweh delivers the March Moment Kentucky fans desperately needed

Let’s be honest: it’s been a long season. We’ve been on a roller coaster ride since the start, starting with the stomach-flipping exhibition win over Purdue, which quickly plunged to non-conference losses to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Gonzaga. In SEC play, for every high, there was a low, the latter overtaking the former as the postseason approached. It felt like it was all coming to an end when Allen Graves hit a three-pointer to put Santa Clara up three with two seconds to go.

That’s when Otega Oweh took matters into his own hands. In what would have been his final college game, Oweh caught a pass from Denzel Aberdeen, bounded across midcourt, pulled up right in front of Mark Pope, and launched. The ball smacked off the backboard and through the hoop, forcing overtime. For the next five minutes, Kentucky played some of its best basketball of the season, finishing off Santa Clara to advance to the second round, where they will face Iowa State on Sunday.

Was it the most beautiful game in the world? Absolutely not. However, Oweh’s shot was a beautiful reminder of how one shot can change it all. Instead of processing Kentucky’s third NCAA Tournament first-round loss in the last five seasons, BBN is looking ahead to Sunday, wondering if the Cats can pull off an upset vs. No. 2 seed Iowa State. The fact that the Cyclones could be without Joshua Jefferson, who suffered an ankle injury in Iowa State’s win over Tennessee State, certainly doesn’t hurt Kentucky’s chances.

I think I’m still processing Oweh’s shot. We’re all friends here. When it went in, I threw my hands in the air, a big no-no on press row. Can you blame me? Even fourteen years on the job hasn’t beaten that impulse out of me yet. Thank goodness.

Speaking of this job, it’s very easy to get sucked into a vacuum; when you’re in the arena, you don’t have a good sense of what is happening in the other games and, unless you’re locked in on social media, what the rest of the world is saying about them. You’re drinking through a firehose and trying to push content out as quickly as possible. Even after witnessing the shot and overtime firsthand, shaking my way back to my computer, and hearing Oweh, Mark Pope, Mo Dioubate, and Brandon Garrison talk about it, it took getting outside for the reality to really sink in.

As Jack Pilgrim, Steven Peake, and I walked out to do our Rapid Reaction outside the arena, we ran into a Kentucky fan and his son leaving the game. It was just the boy’s second UK game. His first? The win over Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. Can you imagine? Two highs at such a very young age. We made them promise to come back on Sunday.

From there, we did what every Kentucky fan has done today: watched replays of the shot from every angle and debated where it ranks in UK NCAA Tournament history. There have been bigger shots with higher stakes. Aaron Harrison’s game-winners during the 2014 run are at the top. Brandon Knight’s shots vs. Princeton and Ohio State and DeAndre Liggins’ three vs. North Carolina in the 2011 run were huge, as were Cameron Mills and Scott Padgett’s threes vs. Duke in 1998. You can’t leave out Tony Delk’s four-point play in the 1996 title game or Patrick Sparks’ three to force overtime vs. Michigan State. Tyler Herro’s three vs. Houston earned another reaction from me, as I smacked my press row neighbor on the arm (sorry, Derek!). Oweh’s shot today was in the first round, yes, but oh, what it saved Kentucky from. For that alone, it belongs in the conversation.

Oweh’s shot is the best of the tournament so far. Patrick Mahomes of all people tweeted about it. Bars across the Bluegrass and beyond went nuts for it. Even better, the teachers who allowed their students to watch the game gave them a core memory, way more meaningful than an everyday lesson.

Will this team go on a magical run? It won’t be easy. Even without Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State scored over 100 points today and will probably have the home court advantage on Sunday. Should the Cats advance, they could face Tennessee in the Sweet 16 for a second year in a row if the Vols get past Virginia. A very good Michigan team will likely wait in the Elite Eight. The road is tough, but Oweh’s shot could serve as the catalyst.

Even if it doesn’t, it’s just fun to dream again, talking scenarios on a patio while the sun sets on an absolutely beautiful night. No matter what happens, Kentucky got its March moment. Shoutout to Otega Oweh for that.