KSR's favorite moments from Kentucky's win over Illinois to advance to the Sweet 16

For the first time since 2019, Kentucky is going to the Sweet 16, defeating No. 6 seed Illinois 84-75 in a game that saw the Wildcats control things the majority of the way. Leading for 37:23 compared to just 26 seconds for the Fighting Illini, the result was never in doubt. Calm, cool and collected, Mark Pope‘s group confidently threw the first punch and refused to stop swinging until they were officially heading to Indianapolis.

It’s been too long, folks. Six years removed from the last second weekend, we were starting to forget this feeling as a fanbase. For me personally, I’ve never attended a Sweet 16 since starting this job full-time going into the 2019-20 season. I was starting to think I was the bad luck charm.

Instead, we’re celebrating in the streets of Milwaukee as Pope leads the Wildcats right back where they belong, surviving and advancing. How did they get to Indy? KSR has the top takeaways from Fiserv Forum.

Koby Brea was truly En Fuego

Brea got things rolling with nine first-half points on four makes, three coming from inside the arc. Then he followed it up by catching fire after the break, adding another 14 on 6-8 shooting and 2-4 from three to give him a team-high 23 overall on 10-16 from the field and 3-8 from deep — plus six boards, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes.

It wasn’t just the counting stats separating his performance, but rather when he decided to come up huge. With Illinois cutting it to single digits with 11:50 left in the game after Kentucky had gone up by as many as 16, Brea decided to score 10 straight points with a pair of triples to earn some breathing room.

The Illini would have one last run in them to cut it to six with 1:36 to go, but Fuego’s push made the gap just a bit too wide to overcome.

Koby Brea could do no wrong against Illinois 😼#MarchMadness @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/5H8YMfC6dw

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025

Kentucky finally experiences LaMarch

What did Coach Pope know going into this one? “I actually think he’s going to be amazing tomorrow,” Pope said of Lamont Butler ahead of the Illinois matchup. “It’s just how this game works. It’s how it rewards you.”

That’s coming off a scoreless performance against Troy to open the event, the fifth-year senior clearly struggling through that shoulder injury with an uncomfortable sleeve restricting his movement to make matters worse.

Then he followed it up with a brilliant two-way effort against legitimate pro talent in the backcourt for the Fighting Illini, finishing with 14 points on 4-5 shooting, 2-3 from three and 4-5 at the line with five assists, three steals and two rebounds in 33 minutes. You could feel his impact in real time, holding Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley to a combined 6-20 shooting and 2-12 from three while controlling the tempo as a star floor general on the offensive end.

‘LaMarch’ emerged on a Jakucionis rebound, immediately sneaking through to rip the ball away and find Brandon Garrison for an and-one finish to kill a 5-0 run for the Illini — the true definition of a winning play in a key moment during his favorite time of the year.

Lamont Butler gets the steal and Garrison finishes at the rim. pic.twitter.com/eF1XQO8R5a

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) March 23, 2025

Collin Chandler launches from the logo

You can’t make this stuff up, right? Chandler was borderline unplayable at times this season, admitting that his journey had been ‘full of frustration’ as he played single-figure minutes in 13 games throughout the year with six additional DNP-CDs. He combined for just 22 points through Valentine’s Day.

Since? 57 points in 10 games, including nine in the first-round win over Troy and six in the follow-up against Illinois to move on to the Sweet 16. He’s now 10-18 from deep in his last five games, shooting confidently on every tough — and from anywhere.

That includes this absolute missile from the March Madness logo to put the Cats up 12 in the second half.

Collin Chandler from the logo pic.twitter.com/xAsRzPpisO

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) March 23, 2025

That kid wasn’t even dreaming of taking that shot in November, December or January. Now he’s hitting that shot in March.

He’s no longer a freshman. Dude is a difference-maker playing like a veteran on the biggest stage.

20 bench points across four players

Chandler had six points off the bench, but he wasn’t role contributor stepping up to help the Cats advance. It was a balanced effort, too, with four players combining for 20 total — no more than six for any one guy, all with at least four.

Garrison finished the highlight play with Butler, but he added another bucket in the first half to give him five points with four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 14 minutes. Ansley Almonor matched him with five after scoring just four total points in his previous four games, drilling a big-time three in the first half before knocking down two free throws with 37 seconds left on the clock to put the good guys up 11. Then you have Trent Noah contributing four himself, finishing a smooth reverse layup while also hitting two free throws after being fouled on a three in the first half.

Losing Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa for the season, Kentucky had no choice but to get some production from the role players. The starting lineup is strong, but there couldn’t be a cliff-sized drop-off when those five need breathers. With the season on the line, the Cats got 25 bench points against Troy, then another 20 vs. Illinois.

Cats force 14 turnovers, cough it up just five times

Illinois entered the matchup ranked No. 314 nationally in turnover margin, No. 345 nationally in turnovers forced and No. 360 in both defensive turnover rate and defensive steal rate. Kentucky has been pretty horrific this season in those categories, too (No. 259, No. 318, No. 338 and No. 193 nationally, respectively), so it was an obvious storyline going into the matchup.

It would end up being one of the keys to a win for the Wildcats, forcing 14 turnovers on 14 steals, leading to a ridiculous 26 points off turnovers with 14 coming on fast breaks. On the other end, Kentucky turned the ball over just five total times to tie a season-low, no player coughing it up more than two times compared to three different players earning three steals apiece. That would lead to just eight points off turnovers for the Illini — a plus-18 for the blue and white in that area.

That’s how you earn a nine-point win in the NCAA Tournament.