Mar 11, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Brandon Garrison (10) reacts after a three-point basket against the Louisiana State Tigers during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The Kentucky Wildcats opened play in the Southeastern Conference Tournament with an 87–82 win over the LSU Tigers men’s basketball on Wednesday in Nashville. The Wildcats were led by 23 points from Otega Oweh and 17 off the bench from Brandon Garrison as Kentucky advanced to the second round.
Garrison delivered one of the biggest stretches of the game, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers during an 8–0 run that pushed Kentucky ahead 73–64 with 9:32 remaining. Oweh later grabbed his own miss and knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line to extend the lead to 83–76 with 1:12 remaining. Denzel Aberdeen added two late free throws to help seal the win.
After the game, players and coach Mark Pope addressed the media about the win and the contributions as Kentucky looks to stay in Nashville for as long as possible.
Opening Statement:
Mark Pope: “Proud of our guys. Listen, fun game. This LSU team is really athletic. They have been in every game they played in. I thought they played great tonight. I thought they came in with a great game plan. Proud of our guys for being ready to go and competing. I thought the guys started well. LSU was tough for us to guard. The guys did a nice job, the staff did a nice job making some corrections, and the guys stepped up and made big plays for each other. I thought Otega was a great man. He started out the game, grabbed a couple of huge defensive rebounds to set the tone for us, and then was an unbelievable decision maker and just the force that he is offensively and defensively. I thought BG was tremendous. He gave us a real boost after Malachi’s two fouls in the first half, and then kind of getting knocked out in the second half — and he didn’t get knocked out. He did not get knocked out. He just got knocked down. And so proud of the guys.”
Mar 11, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) dribbles past Louisiana State Tigers forward Pablo Tamba (8) during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Question: I wonder if you could talk about the contribution you got today from Mo. It seems like every team needs a Mo Dioubate.
Otega Oweh: “Yeah, every time Mo’s out there I feel like he really sets the tone for us. I feel like he set it. Every team needs a bruiser, someone who’s going to give it their all. And Mo’s done that all year. He don’t care about stats. He don’t care about how the game is going. He going to just go out there and make his impact on the game. I feel like that’s just every team’s dream player.”
Question: Huge performance by Brandon Garrison. What were your reactions when he hit those back-to-back threes?
Denzel Aberdeen: “Yeah, he came in, he stepped up big time. He always comes to the game ready 110 percent, gives it all. He’s always being physical, always not backing down any challenge and I’m just proud of him today for coming up and stepping up.”
Otega Oweh: “Yeah, he was a huge offensively. Especially two quick fouls, and he just really made an impact defensively. I feel like that’s where it started. Once you get a couple of stops, some blocks and rebounds defensively, I feel like offensively the game starts getting a little easier. So he really just had a big impact on both ends of the ball.”
Question: When did both of you realize that Kam Williams was available to play, and how do you think he contributed in terms of adding to the rotation?
Otega Oweh: “To be honest, I didn’t even know he was going to play today, but I’m glad he did. He came in, stepped up big time. He guarded. He hit a three, big time three and I’m just proud of him and his journey just trying to get back to us as quick as possible. He’s been in and out of the training room a lot just trying to get back to us. So I’m proud of him for today for coming in.”
Denzel Aberdeen: “I think I knew he was playing yesterday. Obviously he comes in and trains every single day trying to get back. I feel like that really shows the type of player and person he is. Anyone could just say they’re going to call it out for the season, but he really worked really hard to get back and get into game shape. He was really big for us today, especially defensively. And he made that big-time three.”
Question: Former Kentucky legend Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in an NBA game last night. Did you see any of it and what was your reaction?
Otega Oweh: “Yeah, I saw it. I didn’t see the whole game. I saw the fourth quarter actually. It was crazy. It’s dope knowing another Kentucky guy went out there and did that, made history again. It was really cool just seeing it live. I didn’t get to see Kobe’s 81-point game, so seeing that was kind of like the next big thing.”
After the players spoke, Pope addressed questions from reporters about several individual performances.
Question: Every team needs a Mo Dioubate. What does he bring?
Mark Pope: “Mo is such a fun, great teammate and he leads in ways off the court also. He cares about his teammates deeply and he thinks about his guys and he’s growing as a leader. Clearly his impact on the court is great. It’s been great for us this entire season. He just brings us a physicality and the guys know it. I have guys on the staff and on the team be like, ‘Hey, we got to get Mo back in the game. We need some physicality in the game.’ So he’s a gift to us for sure.”
Mar 11, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate (23) backs down Louisiana State Tigers forward Pablo Tamba (8) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Question: In regard to Kam Williams again, just having him in that rotation gives you more flexibility. How did he end up today, and what will he add moving forward?
Mark Pope: “Well, we’re excited about it if he keeps responding well. Him just getting into a flow of the game and us learning to have him on the court again. It’s been a long time since we’ve had the rotation. Going into the game we talked about it a lot and it just felt like he was at a place where we could throw him out there. He really hasn’t made it through a live practice yet, a whole practice. But he has a unique ability to have a positive impact on the game, especially defensively with his length and he’s pretty assignment sound. He gave up middle one time today, but he was pretty good. And then he banged a three for us, which is super helpful. Also just getting some extra minutes from another space is really important for us, especially when we’re going back to back to back to back to back. It’s great to have him back. I’m very hopeful his foot will respond well tomorrow and we’ll see.”
Question: Brandon Garrison had those back-to-back threes today. Was that something you expected?
Mark Pope: “No, he’s been telling me all season, ‘Coach, I’m not going to make any shots until the postseason. I’m just going to save them.’ So apparently he knows more than I do. If you know BG personally sometimes he can put on this maybe almost shy persona, but he has zero part that’s shy on the court and he was great tonight. He had a terrific game. He was seven for nine from the field and my favorite play of the game was the dunk that he missed. He was so physical and determined to get to the rim and then he went back and got his own miss off the dunk and got the foul. When BG’s operating like that, when he’s that physical and intentional, he’s really special. Take the threes, lose the threes, he was a huge factor for us in this game.”
Question: Does Brandon have the green light to shoot those threes?
Mark Pope: “No, he’s always had the green light. In fact when he took the first one you could hear all of BBN being like ‘Shoot it, shoot it.’ So we all know.”
Mar 11, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Brandon Garrison (10) blocks the shot of Louisiana State Tigers forward Pablo Tamba (8) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Question: Andrija Jelavic started aggressively but sometimes disappears later in games. What do you see there?
Mark Pope: “He was really good to start this game. It was really important for us. Him and Mo are kind of working out a pretty good dynamic where we need massive production from this four spot. They both bring very different skill sets to the table. It’s nice to maneuver between the two of them. AJ had to play some five today which is stretching him out of his comfort zone, but he’s growing every game. He’s becoming more confident and more comfortable and he’s going to continue to have a big impact for us.”
Question: Were you able to see any of Bam’s 83-point game?
Mark Pope: “I haven’t seen any of it, but in the last 24 hours we outscored Bam by four, so we’re proud of that. I can only imagine the headlines if we had scored 83. What an incredible performance. I don’t know Bam personally other than maybe a passing hello, but you talk about the guys that represent the world of sports in a brilliant way. He’s an incredible human being, so I’m happy for him and what a performance.”
Question: Early thoughts on Missouri?
Mark Pope: “They’re really good. They’ve been playing great basketball. They have tremendous size on their front line. They’re so physical and so big and so skilled and can hurt you in a lot of different ways. They made shots against us when we played them at home and made some plays late that really hurt us. They’re a good team, really well coached. It’ll be a great challenge just like every game in this tournament is going to be.”
Kentucky will now face the No. 8 seed Missouri Tigers men’s basketball in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday at 11:30. The Wildcats previously lost to Missouri 73–68, setting up a quick turnaround matchup as Kentucky looks to continue its postseason run.
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