In the Kentucky Wildcats’ inaugural NCAA Tournament under the guidance of first-year head coach Mark Pope, it overruled the No. 14 Troy Trojans by 19 points in the first round on Friday night, winning 76-57 inside of Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
The Cats had a ton of pressure riding on their name in this year’s tournament opener, lingering over from former head coach John Calipari and former Kentucky squads’ recent lack of success in the first round.
Heading into the game, most, if not all, UK fans were anxious and tense, just wanting to see the Wildcats return to their old dominant postseason form and at least advance past the first round which, thankfully for the fanbase, they were able to do.
The Cats put on a dominant display, leading for nearly the entire game while sprouting numerous strong runs throughout, and, at one point, UK even strung together 16 straight points, its largest run of the contest.
The foundation of Kentucky’s victory came from none other than the glue of the team, Otega Oweh, who scored a team-high 20 points while also supplying eight rebounds and six assists on 8-13 shooting from the field. Oweh reached at least 20 points in a game for the 13th time this season.
Oweh also set a historical mark against the Trojans, becoming the first Kentucky player to reach at least 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game since Walter McCarty did back in 1996.
“He’s (Oweh) been Mr. Consistent all year, all summer, I’ve seen it through the summer,” Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler said. “He’s a great player, he continues to be great for us, so, we’re gonna need him on Sunday.”
Oweh, a junior, played under Head Coach Porter Moser at Oklahoma for two seasons prior to transferring to UK, and, with the Sooners, Oweh and the team failed to earn a bid to the big dance. So, this was Oweh’s first go-around in the big dance.
Behind Butler (22), Oweh had the second highest +/- with 20, serving dominance nearly every time he touched the hardwood.
The Cats, as a whole, had a stellar defensive outing, holding the Trojans to just a 34.9% field-goal percentage and a 25% 3-point percentage, while also coming up with six blocks and five steals. Oweh had two of UK’s five takeaways.
Kentucky now dances on to face the No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini in the second round on Sunday, March 23, again, in Fiserv Forum.
“We gotta take it one game at a time, one possession at a time, you can’t look ahead because that’s where you lose,” Oweh said.
Tipoff for that game against the Fighting Illini, which defeated the No. 11 Xavier Musketeers 86-73 in the first round, is set for 5:15 p.m. ET and can be viewed on CBS.
