Kentucky Basketball survived and advanced again, beating Missouri 78-72 Thursday afternoon in the Second Round of the SEC Tournament and advancing to the Quarterfinals against Florida on Friday afternoon.
It took a team effort to outlast the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Here are the Stars of the Game from Kentucky’s thrilling win over Missouri.
Stars of the Game: Standout players from Kentucky’s win over Missouri
1. Otega Oweh: 21 pts (9-18 FG, 2-6 3-PT FG), 1-2 FT, 3 rebs, 2 ast, 2 stl, 35 mins
Oweh was in attack mode the entire second half, getting to the rim and knocking
down open 3-pointers. He made two crucial 3s in the second half that helped Kentucky stay out in front, forcing Missouri to empty the tank in trying to come back from down 16 early in the second half.
This is what you want from your star player and your leading scorer. Fifteen of his 21 points were after halftime. If it were up to Oweh, the Cats were winning this game and not giving it away against Missouri this time.
2. Denzel Aberdeen: 16 pts (4-12 FG, 3-4 3-PT FG), 7-8 FT, 7 ast, 2 stl, 34 mins
Aberdeen was money from the free-throw line and down the stretch overall. He scored six of his 16 points in the final two minutes, including four points at the free-throw line. If Oweh is the engine of this team, Aberdeen is the glue. His leadership has been nothing short of spectacular this season, and it was on display in spades on Thursday afternoon.
3. Collin Chandler: 15 pts (5-6 FG, 2-3 3-PT FG), 3-3 FT, 2 rebs, 2 ast, 3 stl, 33 mins
It was great to see Chandler make two 3-pointers in the second half. His second stopped a big Missouri run and extended Kentucky’s lead to 63-57 midway through the second half. Chandler will be needed Friday afternoon against Florida, and his making two 3-pointers Thursday should be a huge confidence boost for him to reclaim his 3-point shooting prowess.
4. Mouhamed Dioubate: 9 pts (3-5 FG), 3-4 FT, 7 rebs, 2 ast, 2 blk, 20 mins
Dioubate made his presence felt in the first half with six points and four rebounds. He has been terrific at the little things so far in the SEC Tournament, establishing his presence inside and unleashing his physicality.
Honorable Mention
1. Andrija Jelavic: 6 pts (3-6 FG), 6 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 18 mins
The key stat of all might be Jelavic’s +12 when he was on the floor. That tells you the positive impact he had. He was terrific competing against Missouri’s bigs and going after rebounds.
2. Malachi Moreno: 7 pts (2-4 FG), 3-4 FT, 4 rebs, 3 ast, 3 blk, 32 mins
Moreno had a terrific all-around game, playing 80 percent of it and setting a tone early with six first-half points. He stuffed the stat sheet and impacted the game in multiple ways.
