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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs Bellarmine; How to Watch and Things to Know

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UK Athletics

After six days off, the Kentucky Wildcats will return to action against the Bellarmine Knights.

Inheriting a losing Division-II team in 2005, head coach Scott Davenport has turned around the Bellarmine program, winning the 2012 D-II national championship and leading them to Division-I in 2020.

Despite being in D1 for just two seasons, the Knights have made an impressive transition. In their first season, Bellarmine was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Sun, but finished second in the regular season and went to the CBI semifinals.

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Last season, they made an even bigger jump as they won 20 games en route to a second-place finish in the ASUN and winning the conference tournament. However, due to the NCAA-mandated reclassification, the Knights are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament or NIT until 2025.

Since becoming a D1 school, Bellarmine has been known to play a difficult non-conference schedule and this season is no different. With a misleading 2-5 record, the Knights beat Louisville 67-66 in their season opener – to win the title for the best team in Louisville – the Knights have played at Duke and UCLA, and will end their gauntlet road trip with Kentucky.

Let’s look at the things to know, predictions, and streaming info for this inaugural regular season matchup.

Execution

While Bellarmine does not have the talent or athleticism that Kentucky has, they play disciplined basketball and do not beat themselves. The Knights rank toward the bottom of the country in turnovers, opponent steals, and opponent blocks.

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In addition, Bellarmine is one of the slowest teams in the country, averaging just 62.3 possessions per game (ranked 361st) and giving up just 63.8 shot attempts for the opponent. On those shot attempts, they defend very well as their opponents shoot just 38.1 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three.

This opposes what Kentucky tries to do, as they are one of the fastest teams in the country. With that said, it is much easier to slow down a game than speed it up, and Bellarmine was able to accomplish that against Duke and UCLA.

With a more limited amount of possessions, it will be key for Kentucky to execute against a disciplined team.

Dominate the Boards

One of Kentucky’s biggest strengths, which is coincidentally one of Bellarmine’s weaknesses, is rebounding.

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Averaging 43.2 rebounds per game, the Wildcats are the seventh-best rebounding team in the country. Whereas, the Knights are the seventh-worst rebounding team, averaging just 27.6 per contest.

As mentioned before, Bellarmine will do their best to limit possessions. If Kentucky dominates the boards as they should, they can create extra opportunities for themselves on offense. Expect a great performance by Oscar Tshiebwe.

Get Damion Collins Going and Help Chris Livingston Find His Role

This season, many Wildcats have had standout performances. Yet there is one that hasn’t, Damion Collins.

On his weekly call-in show last week, Calipari mentioned that Collins was the best player in this season’s preseason practices, before his father, Ben Collins, passed away.

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Thus far, Collins’ best performance has been a 6-point, 7-rebound performance against South Carolina State. While this isn’t bad, the Wildcats will need more from their first big man off the bench. A confidence-boosting performance against Bellarmine would help.

As for Livingston, he has averaged just over 15 minutes per game and has done good things when he has played, especially defensively and with rebounding. However, when he plays the three-spot, it hurts the offense. It would be nice to see Livingston display the ability to play some four and be comfortable with it.

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Bellarmine Knights

Time/Date: 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the UK radio network call on WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1, and the UK Sports Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | BU
Stats To Know: UK | BU
Team SheetsUK | BU
Live Stats

Odds: The betting line has yet to be released. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats a 95.8% chance of winning, and Bart Torvik has it at 97%.

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PredictionsBart Torvik has Kentucky winning in an 80-58 blowout.

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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