How big was the rim for Koby Brea? "It felt like an ocean" -- but he did most of his damage from two

Koby Brea got things rolling with nine first-half points, followed by another 14 points after the break to give him a team-high 23 on 10-16 shooting in Kentucky‘s win over Illinois to advance to the Sweet 16. He was brilliant overall, but two aspects of the performance specifically put it over the top.

For one, only three of his 10 made field goals came from deep, finishing 3-8 on the day. Known as a marksman from the perimeter, Brea did the majority of his damage from inside the arc, going 7-8 there.

“I think I’ve always had different parts of my game. I just feel like I haven’t really been able to show it, but I’ve definitely developed a lot throughout this year,” he said of his impact beyond three-point shooting on Sunday. “The coaches have done a great job of just showing me how I could use my shot to get to other things. Just getting to my mid-range, my floaters, stuff like that. Just trying to expand my game.”

When asked about Brea’s impact beyond his role as a sniper, Andrew Carr made sure to clarify that no one is better at his specialty than No. 4.

“Well, he’s still a three-point specialist, for sure,” he joked.

That doesn’t make any of the work he did from two-point range any less impressive, though.

“Man, he’s done a great job of — we talk about it, it’s called digging in on his drives, and being able to come off pick-and-rolls super aggressive, being able to get a good driving line, get downhill for a floater or get to the rim,” Carr continued. “I think, for him, he’s really developed very well. A lot of hard work is going into it. It’s really special to see a player be able to do that throughout the season.”

Then came the second part of his standout performance, scoring 10 straight points for Kentucky to create some breathing room in the second half. Of his three made three-pointers, two of them came in that specific stretch to put the Cats up by as many as 16.

For Brea, anything he tossed toward the basket felt like it was going in. It was that kind of day for the 6-7 guard.

“It felt like an ocean. As a player, you kind of just get in that groove. Especially when you’ve got the coaches and players backing you, it makes it even bigger,” Brea told KSR. “I just wanted to go out there and make plays for myself and for my team. At the end of the day, we just want to win the game. Whatever it takes.”

What was it like watching it all unfold in real time? His teammates could say they couldn’t believe it, but they’d be lying. They know he’s capable of red-hot production every time the ball touches his hands.

“We’ve seen that a lot before. It reminded me of the Florida game,” Amari Williams told KSR. “I don’t think there was any better time for it to happen than at March Madness, so I’m just happy he had that moment, for sure.”

“It felt crazy being there on the bench. I’m so happy for him,” Ansley Almonor added. “He deserves this, he works so hard, he stays in the gym. He’s just a great guy, so he really deserves all this praise, this moment — this legendary March Madness moment. It’s crazy. I’m happy for him, crazy happy for him.”

The good news for those guys? When Brea heats up like that, it opens the door for them to earn clean looks, as well. If the defenders obsess over No. 4, there are four other guys on the floor capable of scoring.

That’s what makes this team dangerous — especially this time of the year.

“It’s hard to stop. It’s hard to stop, because anybody can go, you know what I’m saying?” Brea said. “I think we had a lot of people in double digits today, and that’s not the case just today, but in a lot of games, you know? So it’s like, who do you stop? Because the next guy’s gonna come right back and he’s gonna get buckets, too.”

The hope is that shooting and scoring success continues in Indianapolis against Tennessee, but whenever this journey ends for the Wildcats — San Antonio at the Final Four, preferably — Brea will always have that Round of 32 masterclass to look back on.

There will probably be kids watching highlights of that 10-point run in the second half for years to come.

“I mean, I’m not a little kid, but I’ll probably watch that at home, too. I’ll probably sit on my couch and watch it,” Collin Chandler joked. “It’s just fun to have a front-row seat to watch Koby do his thing. It’s awesome.”