Otega Oweh Hits Clutch March Madness Buzzer-Beater to Avoid Upset, Who Is Kentucky's Star Guard?

Kentucky guard Otega Oweh's buzzer-beating three-pointer allowed the No. 7 seed Wildcats to avoid an upset against No. 10 Santa Clara in the 2026 NCAA tournament on Friday.

Oweh sent the game to overtime with a deep triple that came just two seconds after a go-ahead three from Santa Clara forward Allen Graves.

Kentucky went on to win in overtime by the final score of 89-84.

Oweh finished with 35 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block while shooting 11-of-24 from the field in the victory. He also shot 3-of-8 from behind the arc.

Oweh is in the midst of his second season at Kentucky after spending the first two years of his collegiate career at Oklahoma.

He was initially a 4-star prospect listed as the No. 5 shooting guard in the 2022 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Oweh operated in a backup role during his freshman season at Oklahoma before moving into the Sooners' starting lineup during his sophomore year. After showcasing his improved scoring prowess and long-range shooting, he transferred to Kentucky in April 2024.

The 22-year-old has served as the Wildcats' leading scorer in each of his two years with the team.

This season, Oweh averaged 18.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game while connecting on 46.3 percent of his field goals heading into Friday's action. He also shot 33.6 percent from three-point territory.

The senior guard discussed his last-second shot following Friday's victory.

"I was trying to get as close as possible to make the shot," Oweh said in his postgame interview, via USA Today's Austin Curtright. "I don't know, it just went in. It's March Madness, that's the type of vibe it is, I ain't even gonna lie."

"That's what March is though," he added. "All the best games happen at this time of the year. It was a blast, I was just glad we got to pull it out."

Kentucky will now await the winner of Friday's clash between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 15 Tennessee State in the second round.