Even at Kentucky, Koby Brea embraces mid-major mentality: 'I'm thinking I'm still the underdog.'

Koby Brea isn’t the first Kentucky player this season to say he’s not supposed to be here.

After four years at a mid-major (Dayton) as an unranked high school recruit, playing for a Blue Blood one day wasn’t exactly on Brea’s radar until Mark Pope (and a few other Blue Bloods) came calling in the offseason. The same goes for Ansley Almonor, who spent three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson before transferring to UK. Amari Williams (last four years at Drexel) understands that, too.

All three have quickly proven they deserve to be here, but they didn’t leave their hardworking mentalities with them at their previous stops. Those mindsets are what helped them get to Lexington in the first place. They had no choice but to overcome the odds. It now helps them understand just how fortunate they are to be playing college basketball at Kentucky.

Over the years, they’ve been the ones looking to step into a building like Rupp Arena and upset a powerhouse program. Now at Kentucky, they’re trying to fend off would-be upsetters on a game-by-game basis.

Brea (second on the team in scoring at 16 PPG) in particular knows what it takes to pull off those upsets, so he knows to expect the opponent’s best shot. With that in mind, he plays like he’s still at his previous stops as the clear underdog — even if Kentucky is a 30-point favorite.

“I think we’ve all had experiences where we played in a really big arena, really big team, where we’re kind of just like, ‘Whoa, this is different,’ and we’re just super excited,” Brea said on Monday. “And we’re the underdogs, you know, everybody thinks we’re gonna lose. And then we come and have a big game and win.

“So we’ve all kind of gone through that and now being at this level where every game for us is really big and stuff like that. We all still come with the same mindset. Every time I come into Rupp Arena, I’m thinking I’m still the underdog. I’m not supposed to be here. We’re playing against another opponent on a big stage and everything. But we still got to bring it every time.”

At Dayton, Brea was part of teams that beat Kansas, LSU, Miami (FL), and Virginia Tech. Williams was on a Drexel squad that upset Villanoca. Almonor was on the Fairleigh Dickinson team that upset Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Being an underdog isn’t unfamiliar to any of them.

But that doesn’t necessarily make being the favorite any easier. It helps that Coach Pope and his staff harp on being prepared for every opponent no matter the level of competition. Every game is the biggest game of their life, just like it was for Brea at Dayton taking on the high-major schools.

“I think they just do a great job explaining to us how any team that we play, whether it’s Jackson State, Duke, Lipscomb, whoever it is, they’re capable of beating us,” Brea said. “And they’re showing us how they could beat us. I wouldn’t say it puts a fear factor in us or anything like that, but it just makes us aware, if we don’t come and bring it, they can beat us, and that’s gonna change everything. So it definitely just keeps us in line and makes sure that everybody’s doing the right things. Whether it’s scouting reports, paying attention to that, or just bringing energy every single day in practice and games.”

Kentucky and Brea will certainly need to bring it tonight when the Wildcats host Western Kentucky inside Rupp Arena. The Hilltoppers (UK’s highest-ranked KenPom opponent so far this season other than Duke) will be looking to pull off an upset that would change the trajectory of its entire season. But Brea, his teammates, and the entire staff understand that. They’ll be more than prepared when the 6:30 p.m. EST tipoff (ESPNU) comes around.

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