Kentucky Basketball pulled off what many did not expect on Saturday night, beating John Calipari and the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks 85-77.
The Wildcats looked like a completely new team to start the game, taking a 14-5 lead early on and closing out the first half with a 42-35 lead. Mark Pope’s team showed toughness and spirit in the first 20 minutes of action — something they had not shown on the road pretty much all season.
Five minutes into the second half, official Doug Shows took matters into his own hands — calling three technical fouls on Kentucky in just 38 seconds.
The first on Brandon Garrison was somewhat warranted with a light taunt after making a good defensive play.
The second on Mouhamed Dioubate may have been the worst call fans have ever seen when he was whistled for celebrating towards the crowd after blocking a shot. After several replays, it was evident he never motioned towards an Arkansas player.
The third on Pope was Shows continuing to make the game about himself, per usual. Pope was clearly unhappy with the officiating, and Shows was quick to blow the whistle — as usual.
This fueled a rally by Arkansas to take a 57-53 lead with 12 minutes remaining, sucking all of the wind out of Kentucky and taking away all of the momentum the Wildcats had built.
Despite the blunder by Shows, Kentucky weathered the storm and managed to retake a 72-69 lead with five minutes remaining.
The Wildcats continued to battle, edging their lead further throughout the remainder of the game until the clock ran out. A handful of plays made by Otega Oweh, Dioubate, Trent Noah, and Collin Chandler down the stretch helped ice the game.
Surviving the Shows debacle and beating a very good Arkansas team on the road all in one night says a lot about the grit and fight of this team. Though they had not shown much effort on the road so far this season, tonight could very well be the beginning of a new-look Wildcats team moving forward.
Kentucky will return to Lexington with a 15-7 record and a home matchup against Oklahoma on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 PM ET with television coverage on ESPN2.
Highlights
Game MVP
Otega Oweh has been on an absolute tear this season. Recognized as the preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, he has certainly played like it for these Wildcats and continued to do so on Saturday night.
He led all players in scoring with 24 points on 9-12 shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds in 38 minutes.
His toughness, energy on defense, and ability to take over in key moments helped push Kentucky over the edge when they needed him most. They’ll continue to lean on him for leadership and as the team’s leading scorer as the Wildcats look to further improve their NCAA Tournament resume by putting together more wins in SEC play.
