Kentucky Escapes March Madness OT Thriller Featuring Two Grizzlies Draft Targets

The Memphis Grizzlies made major moves to prepare for the coveted 2026 NBA Draft.

Not only is Memphis entering Lottery night with the currently projected 8th-best odds, they're also entering Draft Night with the projected 17th pick (the best pick from ORL/PHX) and the 31st pick. (from IND)

The Grizzlies will potentially add three rookies in a loaded class, if they keep those three picks.

Looking at potential Grizzlies draft targets, a huge Day 2 showdown revealed two big time college players who just delivered an epic finish in classic March Madness fashion who could find themselves in that 17-31 range this summer.

Kentucky Guard Otega Oweh and Santa Clara Forward Allen Graves just gave us a March Madness memory for the ages.

Otega Oweh vs Allen Graves, an Instant Classic March Madness Moment

Otega Oweh send game to overtime with deep pull-up three — Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) shoots a three point basket against Santa Clara Broncos guard Sash Gavalyugov (2) to tie the game as time expires in the second half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Oweh is known for his defense, his toughness, his tenacity; a football player playing guard; a strong versatile defender, a light-on-his feet driver with developing handle, a promising 3pt shooter with overall two-way feel for the game who has rounded out real D&3 impact and slashing scoring production.

Oweh hit the first big shot of the 13-second sequence, with the play drawn up for a screen to free him cutting downhill off ball, catching the pass like a receiver, planting his feet for the tough spin move through defenders after tucking the ball under his arm as to not turn it over, before shoveling it up and in with that sneaky soft touch he finds when he needs it.

OTEGA OWEH LEGACY GAME 🔥

Oweh dropped 35 and hit the biggest shot of his life in the Wildcats' first-round win over Santa Clara pic.twitter.com/MZiPhkDH0i
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 20, 2026

35 points, a career-high for Oweh, with the buzzer-beater banked-in pull-up three from Lexington to force the game into overtime, was the best game of his career, and it came in an overtime thriller win on the biggest stage.

Assists were not an official stat until 1984, but that said, here are the only people ever documented with at least 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in an NCAAT game, per CBS Sports research, Matt Norlander:

1959: Oscar Robertson
1965: Bill Bradley
1979: Larry Bird
2026: Otega Oweh

A potential D&3 big guard who could potentially fill a role in the realm of a KCP one day would be great value to add to any rotation, and while 17th-overall in this draft would probably be a bit early in a class full of such talented depth, a likely rotation player two-way winner like Oweh would be hard to do better than in the second round at the 31st slot.

THIS
IS
MARCH pic.twitter.com/OcAKNgerqm
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2026

Allen Graves could be a value play at either late Grizzlies pick

Graves celebrates big shot — Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Santa Clara Broncos forward Allen Graves (22) reacts after making a basket against Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24) during the second half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Before Oweh hit the back-breaking buzzer-beating banked-in three to send the game to overtime, and just after he finished the tough spinning layup through traffic, there was a brief moment where this game felt like Kentucky was actually bound to lose.

In that 13-second stretch, Allen Graves hit an unbelievable pull-up three for Santa Clara, the would-be go-ahead game-winner march-madness marquee moment.

Instead, his team didn't quite pull out the victory after Oweh's heroics sent the game to overtime, but Graves was a big reason they were alive throughout.

One 2026 NBA Draft Gem gaining momentum?

Allen Graves

"Rare mix of Strong, incredible Processing basketball IQ, and a Motor that never stops running."

- @chipwilliamsjr joins @beyondtheRK to highlight potential 2026 NBA Draft Gems on today's 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠… pic.twitter.com/LskTcScZP3
— Swish Theory (@SwishTheory) February 13, 2026

On top of the ice-cold would-have-been kill-shot three, Graves showed incredible instincts on the glass as an offensive rebounder, even in traffic, a good indicator of overall feel; his postup footwork, spin move counters, and soft touch inside looked like moves he's practiced before; his two-way feel making team-first plays is notable when it comes to his proven ability to force turnovers and find teammates without turning it over.

Graves has snuck up on draft boards for many reason, including his standout BPM rating Top-10 among freshman, his next-level turnover forcing defensive instincts in STL% and BLK%, along with his nuclear offensive rebounding instincts all revealing off-the-charts indicators for high two-way feel as a team-first decision maker on both ends.

in conf play, allen graves has a 13.3 bpm (6th in the nation). his combo of 18% oreb/2.7 A:TO/5% steal/5% block is utterly unprecedented.

that he's foul-prone or not a true freshman doesn't matter. even if he was a senior, he's draftable.

graves will be an impactful NBA player. https://t.co/zIzzt357cA pic.twitter.com/QfxFor7EMV
— avi (@100guaranteed) February 2, 2026

The Grizzlies would be finding a potential draft gem in selecting Allen Graves at any draft slot after arguably the top-4 or so, whether its at the 17th slot, which would be great value, or at the 31st slot, which would be incredible value, all dependent on if Graves declares and how high his stock rises during the evaluation process.

Memphis' current rebuild plan around Cedric Coward, Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells could use as many two-way good basketball players for the rotation it can find.

Read here for more ideas on who the Grizzlies could target in the lottery, like these daydream draft night scenarios for Memphis, or a look at some other talented players they could hope slip out of the lottery to the pick Memphis acquired from the Bane trade.