Don't forget about Mo Dioubate's big game: 'I didn't want the season to end already.'

Otega Oweh‘s historic performance and banked-in, buzzer-beating triple will dominate the headlines. Brandon Garrison‘s 10-point, six-block effort will come up next in the conversation. But Kentucky doesn’t advance in the NCAA Tournament without Mo Dioubate.

Dioubate saved arguably his best performance of the season for the best possible moment. The junior forward came up huge in the Wildcats’ 89-84 overtime win against Santa Clara on Friday. He posted 17 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks on 6-8 overall shooting in a season-high 32 minutes. Sure, he’s had better *statistical* games throughout the 2025-26 campaign, but considering the circumstances, he’d probably tell you this was his best one yet.

“He brings so much intensity and physicality and brings so much to our team,” Head coach Mark Pope said of Dioubate postgame. “In a lot of ways he has been the defensive emotional heart and soul of our group. When he’s great, we are great almost without fail. He bears a big burden on our team. Lucky he is with us.”

Six of Dioubate’s points came in overtime, tied with Otega Oweh for the most during those five minutes. He hit a pair of free throws that capped off an 8-0 UK run, extending the Wildcats’ lead to 85-79 with only 31 seconds left to play. Dioubate and his teammates have been in similar situations before — albeit without the massive stakes. He was still confident they would know how to handle the pressure.

“It’s almost like déjà vu,” Dioubate said. “And once we got to overtime, we were like this is it right here. There’s no more second chances. We’re not going to let them breathe at all. We’re going to give it our all. This is our chance right here. That second chance doesn’t come around in March too often. So we gotta take advantage of it, and that’s what we did.”

Dioubate simply found ways to make big plays on both ends of the floor, something he’s done more and more of down the stretch of the schedule. Playing in a Final Four and an Elite Eight during his two seasons at Alabama sure came in handy on Friday. He hit just his sixth three-pointer of the season in the first-half. His defense and ability to clean up on the glass in the second half were timely.

If his season was going to come to an end, he was going to go out swinging. Luckily, Oweh’s miracle shot has Dioubate and the rest of the Wildcats living to see another day.

“I was just praying for it to go in. I was about to cry if he missed that shot,” Dioubate said with a laugh. “Yeah, I was just hoping the shot went in. I didn’t want the season to end already.”