Kentucky’s Three-Point Turnaround: Wildcats Heating Up from Deep in SEC Play
Don’t let the early-season struggles fool you - Kentucky is starting to catch fire from beyond the arc, and it’s coming at just the right time. After a rocky start shooting the three-ball against high-major opponents, the Wildcats have flipped the script in SEC play, and the results are turning heads.
Let’s rewind for a second. Early in the season, Kentucky’s perimeter shooting left plenty to be desired.
Against marquee non-conference opponents - think Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Indiana, and St. John’s - the Cats couldn’t buy a bucket from deep.
In those six games, they averaged just 5.6 made threes on 23.6 attempts, good for a cold 23.9% clip. The worst of the bunch?
A 1-for-13 showing against North Carolina that had fans wondering if the Wildcats would have to grind out every win the old-fashioned way - in the paint and on the boards.
But once SEC play tipped off, something changed. The shots started falling, and the confidence followed.
Kentucky has now found a rhythm from deep, and it’s showing in the numbers. Through five conference games, the Wildcats are hitting 38.7% of their threes - nearly 15 percentage points better than what they managed against those early-season powerhouses. And it’s not just one hot hand doing the damage; this is a team-wide surge.
Take the back-to-back road wins at LSU and Tennessee. In Baton Rouge, five different Wildcats combined to go 8-for-11 from three in the second half alone, erasing a double-digit deficit and stealing a win in a tough environment.
Then came Knoxville, where Kentucky once again dug itself into an early hole before catching fire after halftime. The Wildcats hit 6-of-10 from deep in the second half, with Denzel Aberdeen stepping up and knocking down three of his five attempts.
Here’s how the three-point shooting has looked in SEC play so far:
| Opponent | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
|---|
| Alabama | 4 | 19 | 21.1% | | Missouri | 7 | 18 | 38.9% |
| Mississippi State| 9 | 22 | 40.9% | | LSU | 10 | 23 | 43.5% |
| Tennessee | 11 | 24 | 45.8% |
That’s an average of 8.2 made threes per game on 21.2 attempts - a massive uptick in both volume and efficiency. And while the Alabama game was a bit of a stumble, the trend since then has been nothing short of scorching.
For the season, Kentucky is now shooting 34.5% from deep, but that number is buoyed by this recent hot streak. The key difference?
The Wildcats aren’t just settling for threes - they’re creating high-quality looks through better ball movement, spacing, and rhythm. It’s a credit to the coaching staff and the players’ growing chemistry.
This isn’t just about numbers, though. It’s about timing and momentum.
Kentucky’s shooters are showing up when it matters most - late in games, on the road, under pressure. That’s the kind of shooting that wins you games in March, not just January.
Up next, Kentucky will host Texas, and it’ll be another chance to see if this newfound shooting stroke holds up against a tough, physical defense. But for now, the Wildcats are riding a wave of confidence, and the rest of the SEC should be on notice.
This team isn’t just surviving from deep anymore - they’re thriving.