Koby Brea leads the way as Kentucky beats Illinois 84-75 for first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019

Kentucky is joining its former coach in the Sweet 16.

The Wildcats believe they have their new coach to thank for it.

Koby Brea matched a career high with 23 points and Kentucky beat Illinois 84-75 on Sunday to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend for the first time since they reached the Elite Eight in 2019.

Kentucky (24-11), the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 2 seed and Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee on Friday in Indianapolis. The Wildcats have already beaten the Volunteers twice this season.

“Who knows where we’re going to go from here, but this group, what a blessing to be around this group,” coach Mark Pope said.

Pope, who never won an NCAA Tournament game in five seasons at BYU, broke through in his first season at Kentucky. A forward on Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, Pope took over when John Calipari left for Arkansas in the wake of a first-round loss to Oakland last year.

Now both Pope and Calipari are in the Sweet 16. Calipari got there when Arkansas upset St. John’s 75-66 in the West Region on Saturday.

“His personality is always positive, regardless of the situation,” Kentucky center Amari Williams said of his coach. “That’s just the kind of guy he is. That’s what he’s brought to us all year.”

Kentucky overcame a multitude of injuries to get to that point after Pope spent the offseason essentially assembling a roster from scratch.

The Wildcats didn’t return a single scholarship player from last season. Pope added nine transfers from programs that generally lacked Kentucky’s history or stature, though Lamont Butler reached the national title game with San Diego State in 2023.

“We’ve got a lot of underdogs on this team, a lot of people who’ve been doubted just through our life,” Butler said. “Growing up in basketball, not a lot of us were highly recruited. ... For us to be on this stage, we want to seize the opportunity.”

Brea, a fifth-year senior who spent his first four seasons at Dayton, shot 10 of 16 from the floor and scored 10 straight Kentucky points during one second-half stretch. Otega Oweh had 15 points and Butler added 14 for Kentucky.

Kylan Boswell scored 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic 19 and Kasparas Jakucionis 13 for the sixth-seeded Illini (22-13).

Illinois had looked so impressive in an 86-73 first-round victory over Xavier that it entered Sunday’s game favored by 2 1/2 points, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

But the Illini committed four turnovers in the first 5 1/2 minutes Sunday as Kentucky went on an early 9-0 run to pull ahead for good.

“They were just really, really, really intense from the jump,” Boswell said. “They were making stuff uncomfortable for us.”

After falling behind by 12, Illinois only trailed 35-32 when Kentucky’s Trent Noah drew a foul on Jake Davis while attempting a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in the first half. Noah made two of the ensuing three free throws to make it 37-32 at the break, and then Kentucky opened the second half with 10 straight points.

Amari Williams capped the spurt by converting a steal into a dunk, giving Kentucky a 47-32 lead with 17:10 left.

“That game was decided at the start of the game and the start of the second half,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.

Illinois got within 74-68 on Boswell’s jumper with 1:36 remaining, but the Illini couldn’t get closer.

Takeaways

Illinois: The Illini’s standout players from Friday didn’t do enough against Kentucky. Will Riley scored 22 points and shot 8 of 12 against Xavier. He shot 1 of 7 and had five points Sunday. ... Jakucionis had 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the Xavier game. He had two assists and six turnovers Sunday. ... Illinois shot 28.1% (9 of 32) from 3-point range after making 40% of its attempts from beyond the arc against Xavier.

Kentucky: The Wildcats showcased their depth in the first half, in which Oweh, their leading scorer, played 6 minutes due to foul trouble. Kentucky led 13-10 when Oweh picked up his second foul and outscored the Illini 24-22 while he was on the bench for the remainder of the half.

Up next

Kentucky beat Tennessee 78-73 in Knoxville on Jan. 28 and 75-64 in Lexington on Feb. 11. This will be the rivals’ first March Madness meeting.

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