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Five Positives from Kentucky’s Sloppy 82-74 win over Utah Valley

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It wasn’t pretty and a lot closer at times than we wanted it to be, but the Kentucky Wildcats bounced back from their embarrassing loss to Evansville and beat Utah Valley, 82-74.

The Cats, who fell to No. 9 in the polls earlier today, now improve to 3-1 with Mt. Saint Mary’s coming to town on Friday night.

Here are five things that went right in the game.

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Nick Richards Abdul-Jabbar

After having a great game against EKU, Nick Richards struggled mightily last Tuesday against Evansville. Tonight, he showed us what we like to see.

Richards had 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked a shot.

A.W. Hamilton, the coach of EKU, said that if Nick Richards plays like this consistently, Kentucky will win the national championship. Don’t know if that still stands, but the Cats definitely will need Richards to average a double-double if they want to win.

Ashton Hagans balled

After struggling in the first three games of the season, Ashton Hagans didn’t hit snooze and balled.

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Hagans set a season high of 26 points, which will be hard for him to top. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists.

Before the season, Hagans claimed that he had worked really hard on his three-point shooting. He was 0-2 tonight, but if he can start hitting those, lookout.

Rebounding

One of the big keys to this season will be rebounding and after losing the rebounding battle to Evansville, 38-35, the Cats dominated the glass today, winning the battle 46-27.

Nate Sestina led the way with 12 rebounds and Nick Richards was close behind with 10. Whitney, Maxey, and Hagans each had five rebounds.

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Free Throws

The Cats shot 34 free-throws and hit 31 of them. If they keep that up, they will be hard to beat.

Kentucky only shot 12 threes and hit one of them. One way to negate that? Hit your free-throws.

It’s a win

This sounds dumb and obvious, but after the dreadful loss we all witnessed last Tuesday night, we needed some positivity. A win is a win.

Kentucky was up 16 at one point and the Wolverines came all the way back to cut it to one, but the Cats battled and got a much needed win. I don’t care, just win the game.

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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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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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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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