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Men's Basketball

5 Teams Kentucky wants to Avoid in the Tournament and Their Biggest Weakness

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The NCAA tournament is now less than one month away, let’s take a look at five teams that Kentucky needs to avoid for their best chance to win number 9.

1.Duke Blue Devils

Kentucky is much more prepared to go against Duke if they were to meet for a second time, but it is still best to avoid them. Duke has the three most talented players in the country, and could very well all be top 5 picks in this year’s NBA draft. They are extremely athletic and pose a lot of matchup problems with Barrett and Zion. Both are quicker than Kentucky’s bigs and taller than our guards. Duke is also relentless on the offensive glass, ranking first in offensive rebounding percentage and offensive rebounds per game.

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Weakness-Perimeter shooting: Similar to Kentucky, Duke is a terrible perimeter shooting team outside of Cam Reddish, and are shooting 30.7% on the season. The Blue Devils score 26.1% of their points from distances, which is ranked 312th in the country. Syracuse was able to expose this weakness as Duke struggled with that Jim Boeheim zone, holding Duke to 20.9% 3P.

P.S. no team has ever won an NCAA championship shooting under 31% 3P, Duke shoots 30.7%

2. Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech is truly a team that lives and dies by the three-point shots, which can be very dangerous or very regretful come March. The Hokies score 40.4% of their points from behind the arc. Kentucky’s perimeter defense is much improved from the beginning of the season and is continuing to improve but the Cats still allow opponents to shoot 35.1% from three, which is 209th in the country. With one of the best backcourts in the country, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Justin Robinson. The Hokies are dangerous come March.

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Weakness-Don’t get to the line: Shooting so many of your shots from three comes with a price, not getting to the free throw line. The Hokies shoot only 39.3% of their shots around the rim and only get 17% of their points from the charity stripe.

3. Houston 

Houston has not been taken seriously this season, and have been really overlooked. Houston is ranked as the nations 18th most efficient team with one of the nations best defenses and they have two of the best guards in the country that can light it up from outside in Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks.

Weakness-Size: Houston only has one player over 6-5 that plays more than 14 mpg. If they meet Kentucky, the Cougars would really struggle against the size and physicality of the four-headed Kentucky frontcourt.

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4. Florida State

Florida State has been a rollercoaster this season. The Seminoles have plenty of size and athleticism that allows them to force turnovers, something that Kentucky has struggled with this season. Even with their ups and downs, they are a balanced team and are currently ranked as the 20th most efficient team, according to KenPom. FSU has shown the ability to exploit the opponent’s biggest weakness. Beat Syracuse’s zone by shooting 50 percent from three. Beating Louisville with a plus-15 turnover margin. In an overtime win over LSU, FSU had 22 offensive rebounds to the LSU’s 4.

Weakness-Sloppiness: Florida State can cause turnovers but they have struggled to keep care of the ball this season. Averaging 14 turnovers a game this season, the Seminoles are 250th in the country in that regard.

5.Marquette

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One of the best shooting teams in the country with one of the best players in the country in Markus Howard. Marquette shoots 39.6% from three on the season which is 7th best in the country. Markus Howard is a scoring machine and is averaging 25.6 ppg as the fourth highest scorer in the country. Howard is capable of exploding at any time, scoring 40 in one half earlier this season. Marquette also has a top-40 defense held together by
Theo John and Sacar Anim.

Weakness-Turnovers and Transition: Marquette averages 13.6 turnovers per game, and rank 212th in that regard. Marquette ranks in the bottom 85% nationally when it comes to surrendering fast-break attempts. Turning the ball over and poor transition defense practically gives the opposing team points.

Each team on this list is dangerous. However, the only team on this list that I am not somewhat confident Kentucky would win is Duke, just due to matchups. However, they are still skilled enough to beat them. Kentucky has just a good of a chance at the title than any team in the country. You never know what’s going to happen, its called March Madness for a reason.

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Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

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Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

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With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

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Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

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Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

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Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.
Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

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Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

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Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

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Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky.
UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat. 

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In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the  fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.

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