Kentucky Wildcats vs Oklahoma Sooners Picks and Predictions March 13th 2025

No. 15 Kentucky Looks to Go on a Run, Starting with Oklahoma

Mark Pope’s first season leading Kentucky has been a rollercoaster, with the Wildcats struggling to maintain extended winning streaks. Their last three-game winning streak came in early December, but they have a chance to match it on Thursday night when sixth-seeded Kentucky (21-10) faces 14th-seeded Oklahoma (20-12) in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville.

The Sooners advanced on Wednesday with an 81-75 victory over 11th-seeded Georgia, keeping their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

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Kentucky’s Challenge: Sustaining Momentum

The No. 15-ranked Wildcats have had four different two-game winning streaks since their 10-1 start, but they have failed to string together a longer run. Their latest victories over LSU and then-No. 15 Missouri at the end of the regular season have boosted their confidence, but Mark Pope has his sights set on more.

“We’re going to win. That’s why we’re going down there,” Pope said. “And that doesn’t guarantee us the win, but we’re very clear on that objective, and we understand how important this is and what it means to (Big Blue Nation) and what it means to our guys.”

The Wildcats will need to win four straight games to claim the SEC tournament crown, a task made more difficult with No. 3 seed Alabama and No. 2 seed Florida on the same side of the bracket.

“This SEC tournament matters,” Pope emphasized. “It’s the best league maybe that’s ever been in any year of college basketball, and this SEC matters. So we’re heading to Nashville with all of our successes and confidence and warts and holes that we got to plug, and we’re going there with one goal, which is to go win.”

Oklahoma Fights for NCAA Tournament Spot

Oklahoma is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but head coach Porter Moser insists his team belongs in the field of 68. Last season, the Sooners were the first team left out of the tournament, finishing as team No. 69. This year, Moser isn’t entertaining any talk about being snubbed.

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“We are a part of it. I thought we were above the bubble going into this game,” Moser said following the win over Georgia. “It’s unprecedented what this league is, what you have to do night in and night out.”

Despite Oklahoma’s belief that they should be in, their 6-12 record in SEC play paints a different picture. One of their most painful losses came in an 83-82 heartbreaker at home against then-No. 17 Kentucky on Feb. 26.

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In that game, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh put on a show against his former team, scoring a career-high 28 points. Oweh was unstoppable down the stretch, scoring the Wildcats’ final 18 points, including the game-winning layup with 6.4 seconds remaining.

“I think it’s going to be a great game,” said Oklahoma forward Jalon Moore, who had 20 points in the previous matchup. “When we played them last time, it came down to a last shot. We’re a different team now. Being able to play them again … it’s going to be a fun and physical game.”

Against Georgia, Jeremiah Fears led the Sooners with 29 points, while he and Moore each drained four three-pointers. If Oklahoma wants to exact revenge on Kentucky, they’ll need another high-scoring performance.