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TV Info and Three Things to Watch: Kentucky vs. Gonzaga

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UK Athletics

After beating South Carolina State on Thursday, 106-63, the Kentucky Wildcats look to start a winning streak and pick up their first-ranked win of the season against the No. 2-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Both Kentucky and Gonzaga are 2-1, with losses to ranked teams. However, the Bulldogs did beat the same Michigan State team that Kentucky lost to on Tuesday.

Sunday night’s game will be the first game of the new six-year series, and the Wildcats will look to go up 2-0 in the all-time series record, with Kentucky beating the Bulldogs in their first matchup in 2002.

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Entering the game with each team having struggles of their own, it will be an interesting battle. Let’s take a deeper look at things to look for on Sunday night.

Oscar Tshiebwe vs Drew Timme

Two of the best big men in the country will go head-to-head on Sunday, Oscar Tshiebwe and Drew Timme.

Tshiebwe missed the first two games of the season recovering from minor knee surgery, but already looks to be close to his old form. In his season debut against Michigan State, Tshibwe put up 22 points and 18 rebounds. However, he played just 14 minutes against South Carolina State in order to rest for Sunday’s matchup.

As for Timme, he has been equally as impressive and looks to have even gotten better, averaging a career-high 20.7 points (34th in the NCAA) on 60.5 percent shooting from the field.

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However, the two have played before back in 2020 when Tshiebwe was still with West Virginia. In that game, Gonzaga won in a close one 87-82, as Timme recorded 17 points and 3 rebounds, compared to Tshiebwe’s 14 points and 9 rebounds.

John Calipari has seen a similar matchup before, “It was Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan… You would have thought no one else was in the game and there were no coaches. It was one-on-one.”

Which player will get the upper hand?

Can Kentucky take advantage of Gonzaga’s guard play?

While Drew Timme will do Drew Timme things, Gonzaga does not have the guard they have had in recent seasons.

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Despite four of their five leading scorers being guards, the Bulldogs do not have a true point guard. In fact, there are only three players for Gonzaga averaging more than 2 assists per game, and two of them are forwards.

With that said, Julian Strawther is the Bulldog’s clear second option, but things get cloudy behind him between Nolan Hickman, Hunter Salis, and Malachi Smith.

Despite still looking for their balance, Sahvir Wheeler and Cason Wallace have proven to be the better guards thus far. If they can produce and play good defense as they have, Kentucky will be in good shape.

Can Kentucky force turnovers and generate offense?

One of Gonzaga’s biggest weaknesses thus far has been their lack of ball security, as they turn the ball over as much as anyone in the country. In fact, they average 17.3 turnovers per game, ranking 324th in the country.

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Just in their last two games alone against Michigan State and Texas, Gonzaga has recorded 18 and 20 turnovers, giving up an average of twenty points off turnovers. The main source for these turnovers, especially against Texas, has been defensive pressure.

With their length and size, Kentucky should be able to force Gonzaga into some turnovers, especially if they bring pressure as they have at times this season.

This would be very beneficial if the Wildcats were to struggle in the half-court offense, as their defense would provide them with some transition scoring opportunities and open up the floor.

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs

Time/Date: 7:30 pm ET November 20th
Location: Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Jon Sciambi and Jimmy Dykes are on the call.
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 | GU
Stats To Know: UK | GU
Team SheetsUK | GU
Live Stats

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Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has Gonzaga -3ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats just a 22.3% chance of winning, and Bart Torvik has it at 24%. KenPom has it at a more friendly 44%.

PredictionsBart Torvik has Kentucky losing with a final score of 83-75, while KenPom went with a 79-78 margin for the Zags. TeamRankings is going Gonzaga 79-76.

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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