A painful night in many ways.
The Kentucky Wildcats’ 82-78 loss in Austin was a deflating result to the Texas Longhorns.
Despite navigating a limited roster, the Cats played well enough to win had it not been for their unfortunate late-game meltdown.
Dropping to 6-6 in conference play wasn’t the only bummer from Saturday night.
After going 0-4 from deep against the Longhorns, Koby Brea ended his incredible streak of 39 straight games with a made three-pointer.
Kentucky’s sharp-shooter couldn’t get one to fall from anywhere on the court against UT. In 35 minutes of play, Brea was 0-6 from the field scoring just four points.
There were many contributing factors in UK’s loss but missing his scoring production with Butler and Robinson already out proved too much to overcome.
It goes without saying that the Cats are a totally different team when Koby Brea has a hot-hand and they struggle when he’s cold.
In Kentucky’s eight losses, Brea is 11-31 from three.
Obviously each night he’s facing the best effort from each opposing defense, but at this stage in career Brea is used to the attention that being one of the best shooters in the America brings.
At this stage in the season, it’s hard not to project what an off shooting night could look like for Mark Pope’s team in the NCAA tournament.
Thankfully, Brea has a consistent track record of putting up excellent shooting percentages, so you can lean on the law of averages if that makes you feel better.
But will he make them when it counts?
A fully-healthy UK roster may have the pieces to weather a poor shooting night, but with injuries mounting, making or missing the long-ball will have a major impact on how this season finishes up.
Maybe a trip back to Rupp Arena will be exactly what Koby Brea needs. Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt Wednesday night at 7:00 PM.