In the single most important game Mark Pope will coach for Kentucky in 2024-25, the most significant change the first-year UK men’s basketball head man has made in the Wildcats program was on display in the Cats’ backcourt. For a program long associated with precocious freshman guards, it was UK’s “old is gold” backcourt of Lamont Butler and Koby Brea that led the men’s NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional No. 3 seed Cats past No. 6 seed Illinois 84-75 Sunday before a heavily pro-Fighting Illini crowd in the Fiserv Forum.
After six long years, Kentucky is finally headed back to the Sweet 16. The reasonable expectation for Pope in his debut season coaching his college alma mater’s men’s basketball team was to win at least two games in the NCAA Tournament. Pope was able to deliver on that thanks to stellar showings from the grizzled veterans in the Kentucky backcourt.
Super-senior Brea poured in a team-high 23 points, including a stretch of 10 points in a row from the 11:13 to the 9:32 mark of the second half that increased UK lead’s from 61-51 to 70-54.
Meanwhile, adding to his legacy as one of the ultimate winners in this era of men’s college hoops, super-senior point guard Butler had 14 points, five assists and three steals — and was responsible for the single-most important play of the game. A transfer who came to Kentucky from San Diego State, Butler has now been the winning point guard in nine of the past 11 NCAA Tournament games in which he has played.
“He’s ‘LaMarch,’” said UK junior guard Otega Oweh, using a nickname Butler brought to Lexington from San Diego.
A season ago, as No. 14 seed Oakland shocked No. 3 seed Kentucky 80-76 in the NCAA Tournament loss that, ultimately, ended the John Calipari coaching era at UK, a ballyhooed trio of Wildcats freshman guards struggled mightily under the bright lights of March Madness. On Sunday night, Brea brought 147 games of previous college hoops experience onto the court to face Illinois. Butler even topped that, bringing the moxie of having played in 157 prior college hoops games — 12 of them in the NCAA Tournament.
When he transferred from Dayton to Kentucky, Brea carried the reputation of a 3-point specialist. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound product of Washington Heights, New York, has proven adept from behind the arc but has also unveiled a far more diverse offensive repertoire at UK than had been advertised.
Against Illinois, Brea hit three of eight 3-point attempts — and seven of eight overall from the field. “I’ve always had other parts of my game,” Brea said. “I just haven’t been able to show it. But, definitely, I’ve developed throughout this year. The coaches have done a great job of showing me how I can use (the threat of) my (3-point) shot to get to different things, my mid-range game, my floaters.”
Continuing to wear a harness on the injured left shoulder that has disrupted his — and Kentucky’s — season, Butler found his shot against Illinois after going 0-for-5 from the field in UK’s 76-57 win against Troy in the round of 64.
Against the Illini, he hit four of five shots, two of three treys and four of five foul shots. However, it was a steal Butler made with 4:38 left in the game that felt like the game’s tipping point. Illinois had cut a 70-54 deficit to 72-62 and it felt like momentum was shifting to the Illini.
However, after Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis had corralled a long rebound off of an Oweh miss, Butler came in behind the Illinois freshman and picked his pocket. Butler proceeded to feed Brandon Garrison for a contested layup. “I was behind 32,” Butler said, referring to Jakucionis by his jersey number. “He just dribbled up the floor, not knowing I was right next to him. I went, reached, got the steal. … It was just an instinctual play.”
Pope, who in his time as BYU coach used to go against Butler at San Diego State, said, “I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a player that is more desperate to … not let down his team. It is in his soul from a deep, deep place, ‘I am going to rise up to the occasion for my team.’”
Next ahead for Kentucky is a Sweet 16 showdown with border rival Tennessee. The Cats and the Rocky Toppers have met on the basketball court 241 times — but none of those games have matched the stakes of a UK-UT game that will be played Friday for the right to go to the final eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood was asked how far he thought Kentucky could go. “Oh, I think as far as Lamont wants to take them,” he said of Butler. “(Kentucky is) old, experienced. I think Lamont gives them leadership. I think he’s really good.” For the Big Blue Nation, finally reaping the benefit of experienced guards in March Madness — and being back in the Sweet 16 — must feel so good.
