Kentucky Can't Dwell on Alabama Loss with Special NCAA Tournament Opportunity Ahead

Kentucky rode a roller coaster of emotions in Nashville. The Wildcats experienced the highest of highs when Otega Oweh sank a game-winner to beat Oklahoma. Less than 24 hours later, they experienced their worst loss of the season.

It leaves Big Blue Nation inside a mixed bag of emotions. While you cannot completely dismiss what happened in the first game, you’re left with a bad taste in your mouth from the second.

There were two common trends in the game and they aren’t great. Without Lamont Butler, ball security was an issue. Kentucky let Oklahoma back into the game, thanks to a rash of bad turnovers. That continued against Alabama, who turned 16 takeaways into 29 points.

“You gotta be ready to bring it every single game and we ran into a really good team. We just didn’t do our job. We weren’t good enough,” Koby Brea said in the locker room following the loss.

“We know that we gotta keep putting in the work throughout this week. We know that we have something to look forward to next week, so just gotta move past this one and be ready.”

Koby Brea Excited for First NCAA Tournament

After putting up 22 points against Oklahoma, Koby Brea was limited to eight points on 3-10 shooting in the blowout loss to Alabama. Those wounds were still fresh when he spoke with KSR.

“It’s definitely going to be hard to not dwell on this one too much. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot to learn from this game. We gotta move past it. We have a great opportunity to do something special, starting next week. Just gotta get to the gym, put in the work, and I think we’ll be fine,” said Brea.

Brea spent four years at Dayton, a frequent Flyer in the NCAA Tournament (pun intended), but the Big Dance eluded them during his time in Southwest Ohio. The sharpshooter is eager to get his shot at March Madness.

“Super excited. I can’t wait to get there, honestly,” he said. “Trying to move past this game. I still feel like we have the chance to do something special. I wish it could be here tomorrow, but just gotta wait it out, keep getting better this week, and we’ll be good.”

Fortunately, Kentucky could have up to seven days to cleanse its pallet from that embarrassing 29-point loss. It should only take a day or two to flip the switch from disappointment to excitement. The Wildcats have six seniors who don’t want to end their careers on a sour note.

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