March Madness Continues with Kentucky Besting Illinois

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Photo Via Kentucky Men's Basketball - Facebook

Otega Oweh from Kentucky Men's Basketball

The SEC set an NCAA Tournament record with 14 squads from the conference reaching the Big Dance. Given the league’s regular-season dominance, it is no surprise that the SEC continued to make history by sending seven teams to the Sweet Sixteen.

That total includes Kentucky and Mississippi—which won their four-team pods played in Milwaukee over the weekend.

Both teams used explosive offense and disruptive defense to erase their recent March Madness struggles and reach the second weekend of the tournament. The story on how college basketball’s top league showed its strength at Fiserv Forum:

Wildcats Run Wild

In the era of the transfer portal, roster overhauls are prevalent. But no team had ever reached the Sweet Sixteen while returning zero points from the previous season. That is until the Kentucky Wildcats defeated Illinois on Sunday.

Mark Pope took over the head coaching job at Kentucky after John Calipari departed for Arkansas, leaving behind a sparse roster of walk-ons. Pope added talented players in the transfer portal, including Lamont Butler (San Diego State) and Kolby Brea (Dayton).

Brea credits the team’s experience for leading them to postseason success. “Experience is everything. [Having] a couple of years under your belt and not [being]  phased by the moment. Feels like we've been here before; doesn't feel too new.”

Illinois, with two freshman starters, played like the less experienced squad. Before they had a chance to settle in, the Illini turned the ball over three times in one minute, leading to six Kentucky points. This stretch sparked a 9-0 UK run that gave the Wildcats an early lead they did not relinquish.

Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakucionis was the main culprit of the Big Ten team’s poor ball-handling. The Lithuanian lost the ball four times in the opening 20 minutes — a far cry from the near triple-double he posted in the First Round against Xavier.

The Illini’s eight first-half turnovers led to 14 Kentucky points. A Kentucky team that was barely inside the top 100 in defensive efficiency for much of the year is now the 11th-best defense in the country since February 8 (per Bart Torvik).

Koby Brea credits Lamont Butler as the key to Kentucky’s defensive success. “We have Lamont Butler as the head of defense. I feel for any team when you see him pick you up. He's the head of the snake, and we see how hard he goes; it makes us want to go just as hard. He sets the tone for us.”

For Pope, Butler is the soul of his team, bringing an immeasurable desire to win. “He's a winner,” Pope said of his point guard. “I don't know if I've ever coached a player who is more desperate to not let down his team. He loves his guys and wants to perform for his guys.”  

In the second period, Kentucky’s offense extended the lead. The Wildcats opened with a 10-0 run. From there, Kolby Brea took over. The Dayton transfer made six of Kentucky’s next nine field goals as UK kept the Illini at arm’s length.

Pope applauded Brea’s performance on both ends of the court. “I think he is the best shooter in college basketball. And he's in the process of becoming an elite-level cutter.”

The 6-seed made a late push but never got any closer than six points as Kentucky won 84-75. Mark Pope’s program reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019. They will face SEC rivals and #2 seed Tennessee.

Rebels Rising

It took until the sixth and final game, but the fans in Milwaukee finally witnessed an upset. Hot shooting powered Ole Miss to a First Round victory over North Carolina. That same efficient offensive on Sunday led the Rebels to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2001.

Mississippi shot 11-18 from deep for the game, including 6-8 in the second half. Iowa State gave up 1.4 points per possession — the highest total allowed by Iowa State during head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s four-year tenure.

ISU started strong with a 9-0 spurt. Ole Miss responded with a 20-2 run, giving the underdogs a lead they did not relinquish.

“We had them down 13-5 early,” Oztelberger noted, “and we were in control. They found ways to make tough shots at the end of the clock. We could have been better with our pressure, and credit to them because they did a great job making the shots they needed to make.”

Mississippi entered halftime with a nine-point advantage and built on it. In the second half, the Rebels shot 67.9% from the field, and their lead ballooned to 26 points.

Sean Pedulla matched his 20-point performance from the First Round win over North Carolina, adding eight assists and four steals. He was one of five players in double-figures for the SEC school.

“We have several players that are fearless guys,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said. “They all have the courage to take that shot and make that play on defense.”

For some squads, having so many talented players can be a burden, as egos interfere with team chemistry. Not so with Mississippi.

“One of our challenges this year has been making sure that each player could be the best version of themselves,” Beard said. “All these guys checked their egos at the door, and they're playing for each other.”

Iowa State lessened the deficit to 10 points with 1:20 left before Ole Miss closed out a 91-78 victory. Pewaukee native Milan Momvilovic had a tough night for Iowa State, finishing 2-11 from the field for five points.

For Ole Miss, making the Sweet Sixteen is an impressive achievement but not the end goal. “We came here to win a four-team tournament,” Beard said. “So two down. It takes six to win the whole thing.”

The Rebels face two-seed Michigan State next with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.