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Kentucky beats Illinois, advances to Sweet 16 for first time since 2019
By Mark Kern
Published:
Kentucky on Saturday had to watch former coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks make it to the Sweet 16, but it turned out the Wildcats wouldn’t be far behind.
Kentucky defeated Illinois 84-75 on Sunday to also qualify for the round of 16.
The Wildcats started the second half on fire, as they hit 15 of their first 19 shots in the half to take a 70-54 lead with 9:32 remaining in the second half. Illinois wouldn’t go away quietly, as they cut it to 6 points, but couldn’t get any closer.
Coach Mark Pope’s team was led Koby Brea, who paced the Wildcats with 23 points. Otega Oweh scored 15 points, while Lamont Butler scored 14. Many of their points came from hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to help secure the win.
This is the first time since Kentucky made it to the Sweet 16 since 2019, when it made it to the Elite Eight before losing to Auburn in the Final Four. For coach Pope, making it this far in his first season is going to win the approval of Big Blue Nation.
Up next for the Wildcats will be an SEC matchup against Tennessee. These 2 teams played each other twice in the regular season, with the Wildcats winning both of those games.
