Koby Brea says Kentucky is prioritizing getting 'kills' on defense

The Wildcats have a goal with getting stops on defense.

Nov 9, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) celebrates as he runs to help center Amari Williams up from the floor during the second half against the Bucknell Bison at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

All of the talk is about the fun offensive style that this Kentucky team plays with, but they are playing impressive defense through their first five games. The Wildcats have a knack for forcing turnovers, and a big part of that is the backcourt duo of Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh, who the team feeds off of as two of the best defensive guards in the country. On top of that, they are holding opponents to an average of 22% shooting overall this season.

Koby Brea met with media on Monday ahead of their matchup with Western Kentucky on Tuesday, and he talked more in-depth about what has gone into Kentucky's improvements defensively game-by-game, because their numbers on that end just keep getting better.

"I think individually I see everybody getting better, but even more than that, I think our team is just really connected defensively. The more games we go, the better it gets. We start to see more clips of on film of how connected our team is defensively. How many kills we're getting, you know, three stops in a row every game. That's something that we take pride into."

- Brea on Kentucky's pride defensively.

Brea then noted that the Kentucky coaching staff has made a challenge for them every game, which is about how many 'kills' (stops) they get every game, and which team wins that battle.

"There's something funny that the coaches do. They call it 'ball of duty.' A lot of guys on the team play 'Call of Duty', so they made it 'ball of duty.' It's just like what team is gonna get the most kills, and that's like a game within the game for us. Every game so far, we've been winning that battle, so I'm pretty sure that's not gonna change anytime soon."

- Brea on Kentucky prioritizing 'kills.'

With how this Kentucky team has played defensively so far, you can tell how much pride they are taking on the defensive side of the ball, too. Not just offensively, and it starts with getting stops.