Last week was a tale of stark contrast for Kentucky Basketball. From losing to Vanderbilt by 25 points, the third-largest defeat to the Commodores in program history, to winning their highest-ranked game of the season against Arkansas on the road, things are looking up for the Cats as they get set to host the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday. Game time is set for a late 9:00 PM ET tip-off on ESPN2.
Currently last in the SEC at 1-8 and on an eight-game losing streak, with their sole win coming at home against Ole Miss, the Sooners were considered an NCAA Tournament-caliber team ahead of the season. While they have the talent to compete, taking Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, and Texas A&M to the wire, they have yet to beat a top-50 KenPom team.
Advertisement
This will be a Quad III game for the Wildcats, currently on the right side of the bubble, that they cannot afford to lose.
Let’s take a look at the matchup.
Strong Start
For the majority of the season, one of Kentucky’s biggest weaknesses has been its poor starts to games. There have been games where they have been able to overcome early deficits, such as on the road against Tennessee and LSU, but also games where early deficits just snowballed into a blowout loss, as was the case against Gonzaga, and as recently as Vanderbilt.
Against Arkansas, that wasn’t the problem, getting out to a 13-point lead in the first 7+ minutes. After the game, the players and staff mentioned new approaches to practice and pre-game warm-ups. Potentially, this team has found something to remedy their starts to games.
Advertisement
This will be a test to see if it sustains.
Take Care of the Ball
While Oklahoma is deficient in many areas, they do take care of the ball. Meanwhile, Kentucky has been inconsistent in that area for a large part of the season, and its success shows a direct correlation.
In conference play, Kentucky is 1-3 when committing 10 or more turnovers and 5-0 when committing fewer than 10 turnovers. Against Arkansas, the Wildcats had just four turnovers, their second-lowest mark of the season.
Kentucky needs to win the turnover margin in this matchup.
Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison
The two players who will be most motivated for this game are Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison. Oweh played two years for Moser at Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky, and Garrison was born and raised in Oklahoma before playing for Oklahoma State for one season. The two had career games against the Sooners last season.
Advertisement
Of course, last season, Oweh scored the final 18 points and the game-winning layup, scoring a career-high 28 points, to beat Oklahoma on the road. Garrison only had 12 points and 4 rebounds, but he played tremendous defense in that same game. Oweh later went on to hit the game-winner against the Sooners in the SEC Tournament.
Kentucky will need another memorable performance from these players, especially Oweh, in order to defeat the Sooners.
Players to watch
G Nijel Pack 5-10, 188 lbs
G Xzayvier Brown 6-2, 182 lbs
F Tae Davis 6-9, 215 lbs
-
Time: 9:00 PM ET on February 4, 2026
-
Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.
-
Announcers: Tom Hart and Dane Bradshaw will call the action.
-
Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN network (check local listings)
-
Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Kentucky favored by 8.5 points with an over/under of 151.5. As for the analytics, they all have Kentucky as a strong favorite to win. EvanMiya gives Kentucky the best chance, at 81.8%, followed by KenPom (81%), ESPN (80.8%), and BartTorvik (78%).
-
Predictions: EvanMiya has the Wildcats winning by nine points (82-73), tied with BartTorvik (77-68). KenPom (81-71) and Haslametrics (81-70) both have the Cats by double digits. Coming off their highest-ranked win of the season to play a Quad III game sets up as a potential trap game, but I think the Wildcats will remain focused as they did against Arkansas. I’m going with an 82-70 victory, Kentucky!
Send us your predictions in the comments section!
Advertisement
And as always, Go CATS!
