No. 17 Kentucky vs. Oklahoma: Preview, Odds & How to Watch
After a tough loss in Tuscaloosa, the Wildcats are back on the road, set to take on Oklahoma in Norman for the very first time with the Sooners in the SEC. It was a red-hot start for Porter Moser‘s group before stalling out a bit in conference play, going from 13-0 to 17-10 and 13th in the league at 4-10. Can Kentucky take care of business to get back above .500 in the SEC as it pushes for a bye in Nashville?
KSR has everything you need to know about the matchup against the Sooners in Norman.
Kentucky vs. Oklahoma: How to Watch, Listen
Date, Time: Wednesday, Feb 26, 9:00 p.m. EST
Television: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, Richard Hendrix)
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 119 or 191
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard
Early season rewind
Kentucky: KenPom 16
11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. No. 7 Gonzaga
12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
1/4: 106-100 W vs. No. 6 Florida
1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
1/11: 95-90 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
1/14: 81-69 W vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
1/18: 102-97 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
1/25: 74-69 L at Vanderbilt
1/28: 78-73 W at No. 8 Tennessee
2/1: 89-79 L vs. Arkansas
2/4: 98-84 L at No. 25 Ole Miss
2/8: 80-57 W vs. South Carolina
2/11: 75-64 W vs. No. 5 Tennessee
2/15: 82-78 L at Texas
2/19: 82-61 W vs. Vanderbilt
2/22: 96-83 L at No. 4 Alabama
Oklahoma: KenPom 49
11/4: 93-60 W vs. Lindenwood
11/11: 73-57 W vs. Northwestern St.
11/16: 85-64 W vs. Stetson
11/21: 84-56 W vs. East Texas A&M
11/27: 79-77 W vs. Providence
11/28: 82-77 W vs. Arizona
11/29: 69-64 W vs. Louisville
12/3: 76-61 W vs. Georgia Tech
12/7: 94-78 W vs. Alcorn State
12/14: 80-65 W vs. Oklahoma State
12/18: 87-86 W at Michigan
12/22: 89-66 W vs. Central Arkansas
12/29: 89-67 W vs. Prairie View A&M
1/4: 107-79 L at Alabama
1/8: 80-78 L vs. Texas A&M
1/11: 72-62 L at Georgia
1/15: 77-73 L vs. Texas
1/18: 82-62 W vs. South Carolina
1/25: 65-62 W at Arkansas
1/28: 75-68 L at Texas A&M
2/1: 97-67 W vs. Vanderbilt
2/4: 98-70 L at No. 1 Auburn
2/8: 70-52 L vs. Tennessee
2/12: 82-58 L at Missouri
2/15: 82-79 L vs. LSU
2/18: 85-63 L at Florida
2/22: 93-87 W vs. Mississippi State
Series History
Kentucky leads the all-time series 3-0, but has never played on the road at Oklahoma. The Wildcats beat the Sooners in the Maui Invitational back in 2010 with previous wins for the blue and white in 1987 and 1945.
Porter Moser, in his fourth season at Oklahoma, is 0-0 against the Wildcats overall while Mark Pope is set to take on the Sooners for a second time after losing 82-66 in Norman in his first year in the Big 12 last season. Jaxson Robinson scored eight points on 2-7 shooting in that one while Otega Oweh, at OU at the time, finished with seven points on 2-6 shooting.
Kentucky vs. Oklahoma Odds
Spread: Kentucky -2.5
Total: 162.5
KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for Kentucky, the former going with an 84-82 victory and the latter rolling with an 85-81 final score. ESPN’s BPI likes the Wildcats by 2.8 points while giving the road team a 60.9 percent chance to pull off the win.
Kentucky Projected Starters
#11 – Travis Perry
6-1 – 188 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
2.7 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.5 APG
#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
15.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.5 SPG
#4 – Koby Brea
6-7 – 215 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.1 APG
#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
9.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.9 APG
#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
11.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 3.0 APG
Oklahoma Projected Starters
#0 – Jeremiah Fears
6-4 – 182 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
15.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 APG
#2 – Brycen Goodine
6-4 – 190 – GUARD – SENIOR
8.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.8 SPG
#15 – Duke Miles
6-2 – 188 – GUARD – SENIOR
10.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.1 APG
#14 – Jalon Moore
6-7 – 215 – FORWARD – SENIOR
17.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.7 BPG
#11 – Sam Godwin
6-10 – 240 – FORWARD – SENIOR
6.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.9 APG
Statistical Comparison
(via Kentucky’s game notes)
Interesting stats from UK’s game notes:
Amari Williams is averaging 41.2 points-assists-rebounds per 40 minutes, the fifth-most in Division I. That total is the third-most by a UK player dating back to 1996-97 and fifth-highest by an SEC player during that same time span
Kentucky has eight Quad 1 victories in 2024-25, which is tied for fourth-most in the country. Oklahoma and No. 1 Auburn will both be Quad 1 opportunities this week.
The injury bug has bit the Wildcats this season, playing just seven games at full strength with Kerr Kriisa out since Dec. 11 and starters Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Andrew Carr also missing time.
Pregame Storylines
OTEGA OWEH RETURNS TO NORMAN
A former four-star recruit out of high school, Oweh signed with Oklahoma over the likes of Illinois and Penn State. Playing two seasons in Norman, the 6-4 guard out of New Jersey averaged 8.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 60 appearances, including 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds a season ago as a sophomore. Now, Oweh returns to his former college home with OU making its debut in the SEC this year. He’s in the midst of a breakout season, averaging a career-high 15.7 points and 4.7 rebounds with his double-digit scoring streak coming to an end after 26 games in the loss at Alabama.
JAXSON ROBINSON IS BACK HOME, TOO
A native of Ada, Oklahoma, the fifth-year senior will be making his return home, as well. OU starting forward Sam Godwin was actually a high school teammate of Robinson’s at Ada High school before closing out his career at Southmoore HS. The Kentucky guard led Ada to a 21-6 record and the 4A State Tournament after averaging 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior before reclassifying and starting his college career at Texas A&M in 2020-21.
WILL ROBINSON OR BUTLER PLAY?
Mark Pope broke the news that both Robinson and Lamont Butler had returned to practice this week, going through a modified session on Monday after missing the last several weeks due to injury. “They were actually pretty functional in the limited work that they did today. Certainly, they’re both on the uptick. We’re hopeful about both of them,” Pope said. Will it be enough to suit up against the Sooners in time? It’s a quick turnaround immediately following their practice returns, but progress is being made one way or another.
SLOWING DOWN JEREMIAH FEARS AND JALON MOORE
What do you need to know about Oklahoma? Two names matter above all, Fears and Moore combining to average 32.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as two of the best scorers in the SEC. The former is a star freshman who flirted some with Kentucky as a reclass prospect this past cycle while the latter is in his forth season of college, spending two years at Georgia Tech before closing things out with the Sooners from 2023-25.
SCORING IN TRANSITION
Fears has 98 possessions in transition while Moore has 95. Pope has never seen anything like it with the Sooners thriving in that area as a group, among the best in the conference there. “This starts in transition. Over 17% of their possessions are in transition, they’re in the top 15 percent of the country in terms of efficiency in transition. … They have two players that are almost 100 possessions of transition, give or take five possessions a game right now — a little bit less than that. That’s a huge number. So guarding them in transition, that’s a big deal,” he said.
Join The Discussion on KSBoard
Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).
New members can get KSR+ for just $1 for the first week.
Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel
Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.
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