After shooting only 7-of-29 from three in his previous five games, Brea played an excellent all-around game that had been key for Kentucky’s success earlier in the season. The sharpshooter poured in 18 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from downtown. He also went 5-of-7 from the charity stripe and contributed in other facets of the game with three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Brea was able to showcase more parts to his game than he had previously shown as their primary ball handler, Lamont Butler, was out due to injury. Even with Jaxson Robinson taking over ball-handling duties, Brea played with more aggression getting downhill and making plays for his teammates with some nice dump-offs after drawing two defenders. He also knocked down an impressive one dribble pull-up and slipped backdoor for a baseline dunk when he was overplayed. Standing at 6-foot-7, Brea is able to use height to shoot easily over smaller guards and was able to make a couple of nice skip passes in the halfcourt and transition for open threes.
Even though he played a good all-around game, Brea’s most important attribute will always be his three-point shooting. He had made noise before his rough patch as one of, if not the best, shooters in the country and returned to that form Tuesday night. Brea is really good at taking what the defense gives him as he shotfaked for a one-dribble three, took a defender off-the-dribble for an iso three and stepped behind a screen for another. He hasn’t been a super high volume shooter, but he knocks shots down with incredible efficiency shooting 47.8% from three on the year and is 44.2% in his career.
With the SEC being as loaded as ever, Brea will have more opportunities to show he is the best shooter in college basketball and has more to his game as well. Kentucky hosts former coach John Calipari and Arkansas in what will be a must-see game on Saturday night at Rupp Arena.