LEXINGTON – January 26, 2026
The Cats are on a five-game winning streak in SEC play, which occurred at an opportune time for BBN. Prior to the winning streak, Kentucky was 9-6 (0-2 SEC) on the season.
The winning streak started against Mississippi State on Jan. 10. In the opening minutes of that game, UK lost Jaland Lowe to a reaggravation of his shoulder injury that has given him trouble on multiple occasions this season. It was later decided that Lowe would not play again this season, and would undergo surgery.
Denzel Aberdeen has stepped up over the past five games in Lowe’s absence. In the seven games prior to UK’s five-game winning streak, Aberdeen only scored in double digits once. In those seven games, he shot 43.4% from the floor, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 71.4% from the free-throw line. He averaged 25 minutes per game in that time.
However, in Kentucky’s winning streak, Aberdeen has scored at least 16 points in four of those five games. In those four outings, he shot 55.3% from the floor, 52.9% from 3-PT range, and 85.2% from the free-throw line. He averaged 32 minutes per game during those four matchups.
The matchup against Ole Miss was the only game during that stretch where Aberdeen scored in single digits. However, in that contest, he had a game-leading five assists and was tied for the highest plus/minus among all players.
It might be challenging to keep up the pace Aberdeen has been on during the past five games, but UK needs Aberdeen to generate similar production to reach this team’s full potential at this point.
Aberdeen and the Cats return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at No. 15 Vanderbilt. That game will begin at 9:00 p.m., and will be shown on ESPN.