Denzel Aberdeen on his weak technical foul call: 'I was just having fun out there.'

Denzel Aberdeen was hit with a (somewhat questionable) technical foul in the midst of Kentucky’s second-half run, a stretch that ultimately pushed the Wildcats past LSU in the opening round of the SEC Tournament.

With 9:32 left in Wednesday’s game, Aberdeen knocked down a tough floater off the backboard over the outstretched arm of LSU center Michael Nwoko to give Kentucky a nine-point lead. His shot capped off a game-defining run for the ‘Cats, which included back-to-back three-pointers from Brandon Garrison that had Nashville feeling like Rupp Arena.

With the vibes the highest they’d been all game, Aberdeen made sure his opponent knew about it.

After Nwoko fell to the hardwood following Aberdeen’s make, the senior guard stared him down and stuck his tongue out at him. One of the game officials — forever a buzzkill, those officials — hit Aberdeen with a technical foul after thinking about it for a beat.

Denzel Aberdeen technical for hitting the flight emote 😭 @Flight23White pic.twitter.com/cXkWohzD0h

— Ethan Kerr (@ethankerr69) March 11, 2026

That technical foul didn’t factor into how the rest of the game went, which ended in an 87-82 win for Kentucky, but Aberdeen understood why he got whistled for it — even if we can all admit it was a bit of a weak call. Had it not been for the flagrant fouls earlier in the game (one for each team), the officials might have let the tongue taunting slide.

“I was just having fun in the moment of the game,” Aberdeen, who was grinning ear to ear, told KSR afterward about the tech. “Shouldn’t have done that, but I mean, the first ref let it go so I thought the second ref was gonna let it go. I gotta be better with my emotions, I guess. I was just having fun out there. We gotta have less techs though tomorrow for sure.”

Aberdeen deserved to have some fun, too. He finished with 16 points (6-13 FG), three assists, two rebounds, a steal, and just a single turnover in 37 minutes. When LSU cut its deficit down to five with 40 seconds left in regulation, Aberdeen knocked in a pair of free throws to put the game away for good.

Hopefully, he’ll consider the vulnerable children watching on TV next time he commits such a heinous display of raw emotion.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.