Denzel Aberdeen carried Kentucky to victory against the Gamecocks

When nothing was working for Kentucky, it was Denzel Aberdeen who saved the day.

The Wildcats’ senior guard was the star of the show in Tuesday’s must-have win over South Carolina. Aberdeen was steady in his 37 minutes of action, finishing with a game-high 19 points in addition to five assists and four rebounds without a single turnover. He was efficient with his shots, going 6-12 from the field and 4-6 from long range.

Three of those triples came early on at a time when Kentucky desperately needed a jolt of energy.

“He carried us tonight, which we needed,” Head coach Mark Pope said of Aberdeen postgame. “Like, we needed him to do it. And he rose up and got the job done.”

It was a slog of a start for Kentucky against the Gamecocks. South Carolina jumped out to an early 12-5 lead behind four made three-pointers. But as the Wildcats slowly made their comeback, Aberdeen came up huge. From the 8:20 mark to the 6:39 mark of the first half, he drilled three straight triples to give Kentucky a 22-15 edge. He also hit a couple of timely shots in the second half that helped UK extend its lead.

.@DenzelAberdeen brought the HEAT to South Carolina 🔥😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/Vpa3DUoW8c

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 25, 2026

There wasn’t much beauty in Kentucky’s win against a struggling South Carolina squad, but Aberdeen was the lone Wildcat who put together a complete performance. He’s becoming more and more comfortable with every passing game while learning the point guard position on the fly. His five assists and zero turnovers were key to UK’s success.

“It’s like clockwork,” Pope said of Aberdeen’s assist/turnover numbers. “He continues to grow into this point guard role.”

Over his last four games, three coming as losses for the ‘Cats, Aberdeen has 16 assists to just three turnovers. During that same span, Kentucky as a team recorded 54 turnovers to only 55 assists. Those numbers would look much more lopsided without Aberdeen’s guidance. He’s also now scored 10 or more points in 11 of the Wildcats’ previous 13 games.

Aberdeen’s improvement throughout the season, amidst all the team’s ups and downs, has been an important bright spot for this group of Wildcats. They’ll need even more from him down the stretch.

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