"That's a bucket." Otega Oweh Never had a Doubt

Big Blue Nation is jubilant. That was not always the case in the heat of the battle between Kentucky and Santa Clara in the NCAA Tournament.

Let’s all be honest with each other. When Otega Oweh tied it up with nine seconds remaining, you weren’t confident that Kentucky was going to escape with a win. Once Allen Graves hit a go-ahead three-pointer, you were legally dead for 2.4 seconds. The season was over. The Wildcats were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the first round, again.

NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND!

You know what happened next. Oweh sprinted up the floor and got off a prayer in 2.4 seconds. It felt like a prayer from afar, but Oweh never had a doubt.

“That’s a bucket.”

Those were the words Mark Pope heard Oweh say before it banked in off the glass. Onions. MAJOR onions.

Pope was proud of the way his team handled adversity. They’ve been in plenty of close encounters before. Kentucky improved to 7-3 in games decided by two possessions or fewer. One of those wins was thanks to another miraculous shot at the buzzer. Malachi Moreno received the glory from the win at LSU.

“One of the things I was really proud of, was there was no pause, throw your hands up, feel sorry for yourself reaction from our guys,” Pope said after his third NCAA Tournament win. “They scrambled, got the ball and Otega raced down the floor… But that next-play mentality, I think that’s something that you talk about all the time but you learn to experience and our guys have a whole bunch of it, man. They have a whole bunch of next plays. So I was proud of that.”

"That's a BUCKET."

Mark Pope says that Otega Oweh called his shot as he was rising up at the buzzer 🤯 pic.twitter.com/BRvVaT8AuV

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) March 20, 2026

“I was trying to get as close as possible to make the shot,” Oweh said from the floor in St. Louis. “I don’t know, it just went in. It’s March Madness. That’s the type of vibe it is.”

It was one hell of a vibe. With his 35 points, Oweh surpassed Bill Spivey to become Kentucky’s top scorer among all two-year players.

“That’s crazy. Just gotta thank God. I mean, he gets all the glory because I didn’t expect this to happen at all in these past two years. It’s been life-changing. It’s a testament to the guys that are around me. That wouldn’t have happened without them. They get me open. Just having the utmost energy for me and happy whenever I succeed,” said Oweh.

“That wouldn’t have happened without my teammates last year and my teammates this year. So I’m just thankful for them.”

And Big Blue Nation was certainly happy to have Oweh in a blue and white jersey when the Cats needed a hero in the NCAA Tournament.