No. 10 Oklahoma beats No. 12 Kentucky to reach SEC semifinals

Posted by author March 7, 2025 Basketball

GREENVILLE, S.C. — No. 10 Oklahoma battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat No. 12 Kentucky 69-65 and advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals. Raegan Beers had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Payton Verhulst added 16 points.

What You Need To Know

The Sooners will face two-time defending Southeastern Conference champion and fifth-ranked South Carolina

After neither team led by more than five in the first half, Georgia Amoore’s first 3-pointer midway through the third quarter gave Kentucky a 10-point lead

Kentucky finished four of 23 from 3-point range, however, and struggled down the stretch

Kentucky will await its NCAA Tournament seed

The Sooners (25-6) will face two-time defending Southeastern Conference champion and fifth-ranked South Carolina on Saturday.

Georgia Amoore scored 29 points and Clara Strack added 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead Kentucky (22-7).

The teams finished tied for fourth in the SEC, but the Wildcats beat the Sooners 95-86 to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker and a double bye in the tournament. In that game, Amoore had a career-high 43 points on seven 3-pointers. Amoore was 12 of 27 from the field.

Neither team led by more than five in the first half, but Amoore’s first 3-pointer midway through the third quarter gave Kentucky a 10-point lead. Verhulst’s back-to-back 3s from the top of the key allowed the Sooners to take a 50-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Kentucky finished four of 23 from 3-point range. Amoore was just three of eight, with two of those coming in the final minute.

Skylar Vann’s cutting layup gave Oklahoma a 64-59 lead with 1:32 left.

While Oklahoma moves on to play its third game in three days, Kentucky will await its NCAA Tournament seed.