MILWAUKEE
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 84-75 win against Illinois in a second-round game of the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament at the Fiserv Forum.
1. Kentucky’s defense was terrific
Yes, Illinois’ talented trio of young players looked terrific in the Illini’s win against Xavier in the first round on Friday. There was one fly in the ointment, however. Illinois turned the ball over 14 times in the win.
“They’re turnover prone,” UK’s Otega Oweh said in the victorious locker room after the Wildcats’ win Sunday. “Their point guard averages like four a game or something like that. Same with the other guards. We were aggressive.”
And led by point guard Lamont Butler, the Wildcats played one of, if not their best defensive games, of the season. The Wildcats tied their season high with 14 steals — Butler, Collin Chandler and Andrew Carr each had three steals — including eight in the first half. Those 14 Illinois turnovers led to 26 Kentucky points.
“You can’t give them 26 points off turnovers and expect to win,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “You just can’t.”
Several Kentucky players credited the scouting report. Collin Chandler talked about how the Wildcats had not switched on defense until the Troy game on Friday. That helped with the switches they executed on Sunday. Others talked about UK’s defense caused Illinois to make only nine of its 32 attempts from 3-point range for 28.1%.
It’s one thing to receive a good scouting report prepared by the coaches. It’s another to execute that scouting report.”
“Definitely,” UK’s Ansley Almonor said. “Carrying out the scout, it’s not just carrying it out for one play, it’s carrying out for 40 minutes.”
And it helps to have Lamont Butler at the point of that defense. When asked how far can Kentucky go in this tournament, Underwood replied, “As far as Lamont wants to take them, I guess.”
Kentucky forward Andrew Carr (7) grabs a rebound in front go Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic (13) during a second-round NCAA Tournament game at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sunday. Ryan C. Hermens [email protected]
Kentucky center Amari Williams shoots the ball as Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic (13) defends during a second-round NCAA Tournament game at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sunday. Ryan C. Hermens [email protected]
2. Koby Brea has stepped up
I’ll admit it. When it was officially announced that UK starting guard Jaxson Robinson was out for the season, I was skeptical about how far this team could advance in March. After all, not only was Robinson the team’s second-leading scorer, he was one of the Cats’ better athletes and perimeter scorers.
Then up stepped Koby Brea. That next-man-up mentality is a bit of a sports cliché, of course. But there’s no other way to describe the development of Brea, considered a 3-point specialist at Dayton who has developed into an all-around offensive player.
Sunday, Brea was brilliant. Not only did he lead the Cats with 23 points, he was 10-for-16 from the floor, including 3-for-8 from 3-point range. That means he was 7-for-8 from inside the arc.
“I felt like had different parts of my game,” Brea said afterward. “I just feel like I haven’t really been able to show it. But I do think I have developed a lot this year.”
When Illinois cut Kentucky’s lead to 60-51 with 11:59 left, Mark Pope called for a timeout. After that, Brea scored 10 straight points, a stretch that included a pair of 3-pointers and a couple of jumpers in the lane.
“Koby,” said teammate Andrew Carr, “was terrific.”
3. Tennessee, times three
So it’s on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019 for this Kentucky basketball program. It’s on to Indianapolis for Friday night’s Midwest Regional semifinal against a familiar foe: the Tennessee Volunteers, who advanced with a win over UCLA on Saturday night at Rupp Arena.
The Cats beat the Vols twice in the regular season — 78-73 in Knoxville on Jan. 28 and 75-64 in Lexington on Feb. 11. Tennessee was 11-for-45 shooting from 3-point range in the loss at Thompson-Boling. It was 3-for-18 from 3-point range in the loss at Rupp Arena.
Tennessee is the No. 2 seed in the region. Kentucky is the No. 3 seed. The Vols finished 12-6 in the SEC regular season and advanced to the conference tournament championship game, where Rick Barnes’ team lost to Florida. Kentucky finished 10-8 in the league and was blown out by Alabama in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Can Kentucky beat Tennessee three times in a row?
“They’re a really good team,” Carr said. “They’re super tough. I think it’ll be similar to tonight’s game. It’s going to be about rebounding and physicality. Making them miss and making sure we get that defensive rebound. They’re a super talented team and experienced in their own right. It’ll be an exciting game for us.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 9:33 PM.
