Mark Pope’s Wildcats nearly let it slip away — and the SEC isn’t doing them any favors. With just 0.6 seconds left, Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears stole the ball and made a heart-stopping layup, erasing what had been a 10-point Kentucky lead with under two minutes remaining. Pope immediately called a timeout, and with 0.5 seconds left, Otega Oweh drilled a clutch baseline jumper to give No. 15 Kentucky an 85-84 win — a narrow escape that sent the Wildcats into the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. But instead of celebrating, Pope now faces a brutal turnaround.
Kentucky’s late-night tip-off had already put them in a tough spot. Alabama beat reporter Nick Kelly summed it up on X: “Kentucky’s game just wrapped at 12:08 a.m., so that means the Wildcats will play two games in the same day.” That’s right — Kentucky’s next game is scheduled for Friday afternoon, giving Pope’s squad barely 12 hours to recover before they have to suit up again.
The late start stemmed from an earlier marathon matchup between Texas and Texas A&M. Texas pulled out a gritty 94-88 overtime win, delaying the Kentucky-Oklahoma game.
Kentucky’s game just wrapped at 12:08 a.m., so that means the Wildcats will play two games in the same day
— Nick Kelly (@_NickKelly) March 14, 2025
Matt Jones, host of Kentucky Sports Radio, pointed out the domino effect: Missouri-Mississippi State started at 7:48 p.m. Eastern, which pushed UK-Oklahoma’s start time to 10:18 p.m.
More to follow…..
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