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Kentucky vs. Yale; How to Watch and Things to Know

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UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats are coming off their best win of the season as they traveled to London and beat the Michigan Wolverines 73-69. Coming off of a five-day break, the Wildcats will return to Rupp Arena to play the Yale Bulldogs on Saturday.

Yale may be a world-renowned academic institution, but they also have a talented basketball team. Over the past six seasons, the Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times – most recently last season – even upsetting Baylor and nearly Duke back in 2016.

This season, the Bulldogs are projected to finish top three in the Ivy League, as they are currently 8-2 and off to their best start since the 1945-46 season. Doing so, despite losing two all-conference selections from last season’s roster.

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Saturday’s matchup will be just the second time that the two teams have faced, playing for the first time in 1961 as the Kentucky Wildcats – highlighted by Cotton Nash – beat the Bulldogs 79-58.

Let’s take a closer look at the matchup.

Execution

This season, Yale has made their mark on the defensive end, holding all but two of their opponents to 62 points or less. In terms of averages, they rank in the top 50 in opponent scoring average (57.8 ppg) and opponent shooting percentage (39%).

Similar to Bellarmine, the Bulldogs are also a well-coached group – head coach James Jones is a three-time Ivy League Coach of the Year – and they play disciplined on both ends of the floor.

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Saturday’s game will be another test of how well Kentucky can execute and play within themselves. In the Wildcats’ game against Michigan, they showed improvement compared to their early struggles, assisted on 17 of their 27 made field goals, playing through the offense and making the right plays. They must do the same against Yale.

Win the battle on the boards

Despite some early season concerns, this year’s Kentucky team has responded and started rebounding much better as of late. Of course, having Oscar Tshiebwe is a big help to that.

Currently, ranked 5th in the country in rebounds per game(42.5), Kentucky will play a Yale team that is a top-five team in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage (81.9%). Meaning, the Bulldogs don’t give up offensive rebounding opportunities easily.

However, Yale has just only player listed over 6-foot-8, and that is freshman Danny Wolf, who averages the least amount of minutes on the team. Given the Wildcats’ size advantage, they should be able to get their opportunities, but they must fight for them, which is something they haven’t done at times this season.

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Contain Matt Knowling

The Bulldog’s best player without a doubt is Matt Knowling. The junior is averaging a team-high 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds, and ranks second in the country in field-goal percentage with over 100 attempts (64.6%).

As the Big Blue Nation knows, there have been many opposing players come into Rupp Arena and have a career game, and Knowling has the ability to be the next on that list. With his ability to play inside and out, Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston will most likely be matched up against him, which are two of Kentucky’s better defenders.

With that said, the Bulldogs’ success is pretty reliant on Knowling, as he is responsible for 2 win shares (value of winning two games), which is amongst the highest in the country. If Kentucky can limit him, it should make for a much easier game.

Kentucky Basketball vs. Yale Bulldogs

Time/Date: 1:00 pm ET on Saturday, December 10th, 2022.
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
TV Channel: SEC Network
Announcers: Roy Philpott and Mark Wise will call the action.
Live Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | YU
Team SheetsUK | YU
Stats To Know: UK | YU

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Odds: The betting line has yet to be released from DraftKings Sportsbook, but ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky an 87.7% chance of winning, and Bart Torvik has it at 88%. KenPom is at 92%.

PredictionsBart Torvik picked the Cats to win 72-60. KenPom projects a 75-59 victory, Kentucky!

Also published on a Sea of Blue.

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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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