Kentucky's Otega Oweh explains what has changed from the beginning of the season to now

What has led to the drastic improvement of this Kentucky team?

Kentucky's guard Otega Oweh (00) brings the ball up court against Oklahoma Wednesday night at Rupp Arena. Feb. 4, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you were to ask any Kentucky fan, they would tell you that the team they saw at the beginning of the year is worlds different from what they are seeing on the floor now. This team does not look like the team fans saw get blown out in Nashville against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

A big reason why this team is playing better is that they are playing harder going after the 50/50 balls and just playing a harder version of basketball in general. This team wasn’t playing hard early in the season, and it was obvious, but a switch flipped, and now this team is winning ball games.

Otega Oweh went on the SEC Network today to talk about what has changed for the Wildcats over the last few weeks.

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) reacts after scoring a basket during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Here is what Oweh had to say about Kentucky’s improvements, “Just hitting our stride the past couple of weeks, even past couple of months, I feel like we have really locked in on the little details. Earlier in the season, we had a couple of games we let slip just through the lack of discipline and not being mentally engaged for a full 40 minutes. We just flipped the script and were a resilient group regardless of us being down or up, we are going to always fight for the full 40.”

The one issue that has still been around during the winning streak has been slow starts. This was the case in both wins over Tennessee, but Mark Pope’s team is just finding a way to overcome it. A few weeks ago, they were being booed by Big Blue Nation, and now the Kentucky faithful have fallen in love with this team.

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) holds the ball after being fouled during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

There is something about a team that has dealt with a ton of adversity that can get fans behind them, and that is what has happened with this team. Obviously, this team still has some holes and a ton of injuries, which raises some questions about whether they will be able to make a postseason run, but regardless, this has been a fun season.

This team is a great example of life and how, no matter what is happening in your life, if people are saying you can’t do something, you have to keep fighting. This basketball team will go down as one of the favorites in history for BBN if they are able to go on a miracle run in the NCAA Tournament despite what has happened.