Tonight is going to be a special night, in more ways than one. Kentucky is rocking the denim, the '96 team is going to be honored, and Rupp will be rocking. Tennessee is going to be juiced up to try to play spoiler to its biggest rival. But one thing that could add to the atmosphere is Otega Oweh closing in on history.
We reported earlier that Oweh was about to join the 1,000-point club at Kentucky. Could he do it tonight, and just how close is he?
Oweh is closing in on history
Otega currently sits at 974 career points while with the Cats, just 26 points away from being the 63rd player in Kentucky history to score 1,000 points while wearing the blue and white.
His current career high is 28 when he beat the Sooners in Norman with a last-second shot last year. So, the numbers aren't totally out of the realm of possibility. His recent stat line makes it even more enticing:
- 23 against Ole Miss
- 20 against Vanderbilt
- 24 against Arkansas
- 24 against Oklahoma
The one thing you worry about when players get close to this kind of history is that they know about it.
They can begin to get tight, they begin to worry about it, and they press to get it. That kind of aggressiveness could easily turn into selfishness, and that is not something Kentucky can afford against a Tennessee team coming to crash the party.
So could Oweh join the 1,000-point club tonight? Yeah, he could. The most important thing is that he does it within the guardrails of the offense. You can't afford your best player to go out and shoot just to be shooting. There has to be a purpose beyond just getting your own behind it.
I would think getting a win would feel much better, and that is something this team can. Otega's history making moment is coming, even if it does not happen tonight against the Vols.