Otega Oweh makes ESPN's list of 'Players who could define March Madness'

As Otega Oweh goes, this Kentucky team goes; that will almost certainly be true in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN included Kentucky’s senior guard in its list of the “50 players who could define March Madness.” Oweh comes in at No. 38, the only Wildcat on the list.

“As injuries mounted in Lexington, Oweh’s outsized role in the Wildcats’ offense grew until he became the clear alpha in SEC play,” Jeff Borzello wrote. “He’s averaging 18.2 points on the season, but that increased to more than 21 in SEC play. His downhill driving style is nearly impossible to stop in transition, making him a factor in late-game situations. He has become more dangerous from the perimeter this season, too, averaging 3.6 attempts on 33.6% shooting from 3.”

Oweh’s ability to get to the rim could be what gets the Cats past a very good Santa Clara team in the first round. While the Broncos have size, skill, and shooting, they don’t have a player quite like Oweh, who has put Kentucky on his back on more than one occasion. He struggled in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Florida, but in the two games prior, he hit key buckets to make sure the Cats advanced. Now, with the end of his college career on the line, he’ll be looking to do the same in St. Louis.

There are no Santa Clara players in ESPN’s Top 50 rankings — although Allen Graves and Elijah Mahi are ballers; however, should the Cats beat the Broncos to advance to the Second Round, they could face a team with THREE players on the list. Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson is No. 8, Milan Momcilovic is No. 19, and Tamin Lipsey is No. 39. Momcilovic is the star, averaging 17.1 points per game and hitting threes at a 49.6% clip, but Jefferson may be the most impactful player on the Cyclones’ roster. As Myron Medcalf noted, Iowa State is 20.5 points better per 100 possessions with the 6-foot-9 forward on the court, per EvanMiya.

Hopefully, we’ll get to worry about the Cyclones on Friday after Kentucky beats Santa Clara. Until then, at least we’ve got one player in the Top 50 list in Otega Oweh. By the way, he only needs 12 more points to pass Bill Spivey for the most by a Kentucky player in their first two seasons with the program. Just further motivation.

Joe Lunardi ranks Kentucky No. 36 in the field

Kentucky was No. 25 on the Selection Committee’s overall seed list, the top No. 7 seed. Joe Lunardi has the Cats further down the list in his ranking of the teams in the field. Kentucky is No. 36, with Lunardi dropping some hard takes on the Cats in Mark Pope’s second season.

“After watching Kentucky’s uneven play this season, it’s hard to expect it to make anything other than a cameo in this tournament. There’s not an obvious NBA talent on the roster, and the Wildcats have no identity. They earned a spot in the field through stiff nonconference scheduling and conference affiliation, which outweighed their achievements on the floor.”

I don’t know that I can argue with any of that, but hopefully, the Cats prove Lunardi wrong.

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