No. 7 seed Kentucky men’s basketball was able to narrowly escape the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon, beating the No. 10 seed Santa Clara Broncos in an 89-84, nerve-wracking, overtime thriller.
In a game that was the true epitome of what the NCAA Tournament is, with back-and-forth shot-making in crucial moments, the Cats were able to get the job done solely due to their veterans stepping up when they were needed the most.
Otega Oweh (career-high 35 points), Mo Dioubate (17 points), Denzel Aberdeen (16 points) and Brandon Garrison (10 points) were the lone Kentucky players to reach double-figures, combining for 78 of UK’s total of 89 points.
All four showed up on the defensive end as well, combining for 21 defensive rebounds, two steals and 10 blocks.
So with that in mind, who do we zone in on first?
It has to be Oweh.
Oweh dazzled on one of the biggest stages of his career, putting up eight rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block to accompany his 35-point explosion.
The senior guard, who was fighting for his collegiate career to stay afloat, found himself in a do-or-die situation with less than three seconds remaining on the game clock, UK was down 73-70 and Oweh chucked up a near-half-court heave.
With the college basketball world watching, ready to hop on social media and make a mockery of yet another early March Madness exit for UK, Oweh nailed it, forcing overtime where the Cats would then take off with the win.
“I didn’t want the season to end,” Oweh said in the postgame press conference.
If you couldn’t guess, his teammates followed with the same attitude.
“I was just hoping that shot went in,” Dioubate said. “I didn’t want the season to end. We love being around each other every day, so I was just thinking, ‘This can’t be the moment where it ends.’”
Dioubate, who has much NCAA Tournament experience after playing in nine games and a Final Four with Alabama prior to this year, played a large part in the victory as well.
Aside from putting up 17 points, his third-most in a game this season, the forward had eight rebounds, one assist, three blocks and a steal in the win, proving to be crucial on both the offensive side of the floor and defensive sides of the floor.
Dioubate went 1-2 from deep, making just his sixth 3-point field goal of the season and his third of the postseason; the other two came against No. 1 seed Florida in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Switching to Aberdeen, who also possesses NCAA Tournament experience after winning a national title with the Florida Gators last season, he had one rebound and one assist to run parallel with his 16-point outing.
The first-year Wildcat responded to nearly every Santa Clara run by hitting crucial 3-point shots, going 4-8 from beyond the arc, keeping the Cats in the game when the Broncos were on the cusp of running away with it.
Aberdeen’s poise and composure were exactly what the Cats needed when the lights were bright and they were on the verge of being upset.
Finally, we have Garrison, who had one of his strongest defensive showings of the season, accompanied by an elite offensive mix.
The 6-foot-10 junior registered six blocks and five defensive rebounds en route to knocking off the Broncos, and his play was something that Pope beamed about.
“When BG (Brandon Garrison) plays good we win,” Pope said after the game. “When you think about all the other times when he plays good we win. BG just keeps showing up every single day and fighting and fighting and fighting. He was brilliant today. He was brilliant offensively. I thought Mo and BG were unbelievable out of timeouts and running drops. They executed some new things really brilliantly.”
On offense, Garrison went 5-6 from the field and was able to extend a couple of plays by grabbing two offensive boards, which, looking back on it, was more than useful in a nail-biting contest like this one.
The Wildcats now look ahead to Sunday, March 22, when they take on No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Round of 32. The tip-off time is set for 2:45 EST and will air live on CBS.
