Mark Pope's tech, Otega Oweh's heave fire up Kentucky, but UK falls

6 days ago 2

LEXINGTON — Two unrelated instances occurred in Kentucky basketball's 73-68 loss to Missouri on Wednesday.

Mark Pope received a technical with 1:23 to play before halftime — his first such infraction in two seasons as UK's coach. Then, superstar guard Otega Oweh's end-of-half prayer was answered, as he connected on a 3 from well beyond halfcourt to cut the Wildcats' deficit to one point (33-32) after 20 minutes of play.

Those two moments should have been ample motivation for Kentucky to take the court as a different team in the second half.

But those nigh-impossible-to-duplicate occurrences still weren't enough for the hosts to avoid another loss.

Missouri never backed down, surging in front on a go-ahead basket from Mark Mitchell with 36 seconds to play.

After Kentucky's five-point setback at Rupp Arena, it begs the question: If Pope's technical and Oweh's miracle weren't enough to lift the Wildcats to a victory, what hope do they have going forward?

How well the Wildcats answer that will determine if they finally begin living up to the ultra-lofty expectations that accompanied before it's too late. If not, Pope's group will continue to symbolize one of the biggest disappointments in college basketball since the 2025-26 tipped off two months ago.

This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball falls to 0-2 in SEC after Missouri rallies

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