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History Shows Losses to Unranked Teams Can Lead to Success

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Kentucky is not the only top-ranked team to have suffered an embarrassing loss in the regular season.

With that being said, it does suck when your team is embarrassed early in the year, especially to a team like Evansville

The reaction on social media to the loss hasn’t been surprising. Of course, all of the other fan bases are making fun of us, so if you get into a Twitter fight with a Tennessee fan, just be ready for the “Evansville” reply.

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But, inside the BBN, the response on social media has been 50/50.

A fair amount of people are losing their minds and overreacting, while some fans are staying level-headed and know that when March comes around, the Cats will be right in the mix.

If the Calipari era has taught us anything, it’s that the losses in November and early December (embarrassing or not) don’t really matter.

Now, they certainly help if you win, but they don’t hurt nearly as much as they would in January or February.

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A loss like last Tuesday will probably come back to haunt Kentucky with seeding come tournament time, but it will definitely help the team.

With that, let’s take a look at embarrassing losses by some top teams and where their season ended.

No. 1 North Carolina/Northern Iowa: November 21, 2015

Kentucky lost to a sub-.500 UCLA team early in 2015-16, but Kentucky’s loss was not nearly as bad as this one.

Justin Jackson dropped 25 points for the Tarheels but their next leading scorer was Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson both with 10.

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Northern Iowa’s starting five combined for 69 of their 71 points that night, including 11 three-pointers, which gave them the 71-67 win over the Tarheels.

So close, just as they were to a national title that year.

Season results: NCAA Tournament Runner-Up, Record: 33-7

No.4 North Carolina/Santa Clara: January 19, 2004

Santa Clara’s most prominent alum is former NBA MVP, Steve Nash, but this game happened far after Nash’s time, and the Broncos were now a borderline .500 team.

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Santa Clara outright won this game 77-66 as the rebounding battle shows, as the Broncos controlled the glass 40-37 overall, and dominated on the defensive boards 24-16.

Following this game, the Tarheels won 19 of their next 20 including three ranked opponents and went on to win Roy William’s first national title.

Season Results: NCAA Champions, Record: 33-4

No. 8 Michigan State/Wright State: December 30, 1999

Coined the “Upset of the Millenium”, a Wright State team that finished the season 11-17, beat the eventual national champion, Michigan State Spartans, 53-49.

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In the words of Tom Izzo, the Spartans, “were totally outplayed from start to finish.” However, the Spartans weren’t outplayed many times following this game, going 23-3 en route to a national title victory over Florida.

Season Results: NCAA Champion, Record: 32-7

Syracuse/Rutgers: January 29, 2003

Carmelo Anthony is considered to be one of the greatest freshmen in college basketball history, but on January 29, 2003, he was not the best player on the floor.

That title belongs to Jerome Coleman who scored 31 points (12-23 FG) and helped an eventual 12-16 Rutgers team to upset the Orange.

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Jim Boeheim and Company followed this game with a victory over No. 2 Pittsburgh and won 14 of their last 15 games, including a national title victory.

Season Results: NCAA Champion, Record: 30-5

No. 23 Butler/Evansville: November 27, 2010

Evansville may have just won their first game against a No. 1 AP team, but they are no stranger to upsets, beating an eventual NCAA Runner-Up Butler team 71-68 in overtime back in 2010.

The game was close but Butler’s 17 turnovers cost them the game. This Butler team turned it around and was a shot away from winning a title over Duke.

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Season Results: NCAA Runner-Up, Record: 28-10

What did we learn?

In all of this, these losses don’t mean much. Like I said, really all they do is embarrass you, humble you, and make you better (Dang, I should be a head coach).

Kentucky will be just fine.

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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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