Koby Brea could be Kentucky's X-factor in March

Koby Brea came to Kentucky as the nation’s best three-point shooter. The former Dayton Flyer lived up to that billing early on in Lexington and still ranks in the top ten nationally in three-point percentage (44.1%). Tonight, the Rupp Arena crowd will say goodbye to Brea and five other Wildcats on Senior Night; however, Brea’s biggest moments as a Wildcat could still be ahead of him. If Kentucky is going to make any noise in March, Brea better be en Fugeo.

By now, you know the breakdown of Brea’s impact on Kentucky. Some of his best performances have come in Kentucky’s biggest wins. He scored a season-high 23 points in Kentucky’s win over Florida on Jan. 4, hitting seven threes. Later that month, he was a perfect 5-5, including 3-3 from beyond the arc, in Kentucky’s win at Tennessee. He hit three more three-pointers in the win over Tennessee in Rupp on Feb. 11.

Kentucky is 13-4 in games in which Brea scores in double figures. The Cats are 10-2 in games in which he hits at least three three-pointers. Nine of those ten wins were at Rupp Arena, where Brea is a sizzling 52.9% from beyond the arc, a stat he’ll hopefully pad tonight in his final game in the building vs. LSU.

There was a time when it was easy to say that, as Koby Brea goes, Kentucky goes. In Kentucky’s losses to Clemson (3 points), Ohio State (8), Georgia (6), at Vanderbilt (3), Arkansas (5), and at Texas (4), Brea averaged just 4.8 points per game. However, that trend has changed a little bit in recent weeks. Brea scored 21 points in Kentucky’s loss to No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, hitting four threes. He also had four threes (albeit on ten attempts) en route to 20 points in the loss at Alabama on Feb. 22. When Jaxson Robinson was sidelined with a wrist injury, Brea moved into the starting lineup. He’s responded, scoring in double figures in all but one of the games he’s started since Robinson went out, the loss at Texas.

There’s no better time for a shooter to get hot than March. With Robinson now out for the remainder of the season, it’s imperative for Brea to bring it on a consistent basis. Dayton made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year as a No. 7 seed, losing to No. 2 seed Arizona. Brea scored in double figures in both games, hitting five threes in the first-round win vs. No. 10 seed Nevada and four threes in the loss to the West Coast Wildcats. He’s one of several players on this team with NCAA Tournament experience, something that will hopefully come in handy in the win-or-go-home reality.

“Experience is everything, basketball and every sport — especially in college,” Brea said back in June when he arrived in Lexington. “When you have so many people who have been in college, March Madness, and really big games, we all have that. And we have freshmen who will be able to help us along the way.”

Like many players on this squad, Koby Brea grew up dreaming of playing for Kentucky but as time went on, had to take a different route to college basketball. Now, he could be an X-factor in the Cats making a run at No. 9. Pretty cool stuff.