Oklahoma hunting another upset as No. 17 Kentucky visits

Oklahoma seeks a second straight upset when it hosts No. 17 Kentucky in a pivotal late-season Southeastern Conference showdown on Wednesday in Norman, Okla.

The Sooners (17-10, 4-10 SEC) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 93-87 home win over No. 21 Mississippi State on Saturday. Jeremiah Fears tallied 27 points and a career-high 10 assists and Sam Godwin also had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said Godwin and Mohamed Wague provided an important inside presence. Wague contributed five points, two rebounds, a block and a steal off the bench.

"We talked about needing more from our five spot," Moser said. "Between Mo and Sam we got a lot of production from that spot."

Despite their prolonged struggles that lasted most of February, Moser said the Sooners never fell apart as a team. They're projected by many sites to be one of the last teams in the NCAA Tournament. Senior forward Jalon Moore leads Oklahoma with 17.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

"We were all going through struggles," Moser said. "I've been through it. I'm a big boy and can handle a lot. But for them to keep fighting through it, the crazy thing about it is to keep believing. It becomes a narrative, 'We're right there.'

"The NCAA Tournament is right there. That's the belief you have to keep telling (the team). Because that's the nugget. It's just a constant belief. Block out outside noise, keep coming in and getting better."

Kentucky (18-9, 7-7) is coming off a 96-83 loss at then-No. 4 Alabama on Saturday. Koby Brea scored a team-high 20 points with four 3-pointers against the Crimson Tide.

Brea, a senior guard who averages 10.9 points per game, said the Wildcats need to turn it up on the defensive end in their final four games of the regular season.

"Our main focus has been guarding the ball," Brea said. "We focus more on the defensive end and when we do that well the offense takes care of itself. We trust our system and coaches and what they want us to do offensively. When we are aggressive doing those things it turns out pretty well. To be honest, the main focus has been defense. When we come and guard, we are going to win games."

First-year Kentucky coach Mark Pope has noticed improvement in his team's play. But, the uncharacteristic miscues it made Saturday on the road against one of the best teams in the country were too much to overcome.

"We have to get way better, I'm proud of our young guys' effort, they are getting better, but we have to keep getting better, faster," Pope said. "We have to play some perfect basketball in terms of only making our mistakes and not making mistakes that aren't us. We have to make mistakes the way we play."

Otega Oweh leads five Wildcats in double figures with 15.7 points per game while Amari Williams adds 11.0 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds.

--Field Level Media