Kentucky has been dealing with a turnover problem lately

by: Zack Geoghegan2 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

With Tuesday’s win over South Carolina, Kentucky put an end to its three-game losing streak. But it wasn’t able to put an end to the ongoing turnover issues that have spawned over the last 10 days.

Kentucky finished with 15 assists and 15 turnovers in a 72-63 victory over the Gamecocks. It marked the fourth straight game UK has logged at least a dozen turnovers. The Wildcats posted 12 assists and 14 turnovers in the loss to Florida on Feb. 14, 13 assists and 12 turnovers in a loss to Georgia on Feb. 17, and then 15 assists to 13 turnovers in the loss to Auburn over the weekend.

That’s 55 assists to 54 turnovers (1.02 ratio) over a four-game stretch. Across the previous 11 SEC games, Kentucky had 154 assists to 100 turnovers (1.54 ratio).

“Some of that was self-inflicted, some of it was just — maybe some moments of the game there’s a little weirdness,” Head coach Mark Pope said postgame about his team’s turnovers against the Gamecocks. “Some moments of the game we’re pressing a little bit. But that happens. It’s going to be important that we continue to get better at protecting the ball. That marker is important for us. It’s been almost perfect in its predictive value of the outcome of the game.”

Turnovers, specifically, have been a real indicator of success (or lack thereof) for Kentucky in 2025-26. UK is 11-2 when recording single-digit turnovers this season, but holds a record of just 7-8 when that number spills over into double-figures. Against high-major opponents, the ‘Cats are only 3-8 when turning the ball over 10 times or more. More turnovers, as expected, have typically led to more losses.

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South Carolina isn’t even a team that forces a ton of turnovers. The Gamecocks came into Tuesday’s game forcing SEC opponents into 9.9 miscues per outing. But Kentucky had several moments where simple mental mistakes cost them possessions. Otega Oweh, Andrija Jelavić, Malachi Moreno, and Jasper Johnson all turned the ball over three times in this one. Denzel Aberdeen, who finished with five assists and zero turnovers, was the lone bright spot for UK in that regard.

“It was a bunch of things,” Pope said when explaining Kentucky’s 15 turnovers against South Carolina. “One, it was just us being a little bit rushed, a little bit anxious. That was the biggest one. Two was just being a little bit stubborn — one-on-three and one-on-five, not kind of making the simple play and trusting the next guy. Three, there’s a little bit of youth out there that just was problematic for us.”

With only three more regular-season games left on the schedule, now isn’t an ideal time for this group to be going through ball security issues. Aberdeen has provided a steady hand, but his teammates need to follow suit if Kentucky wants to make some noise in the postseason.