This stat on Koby Brea shows why he is key to Kentucky's success and struggles

Kentucky's wins and losses in conference play have depended on Koby Brea.

Feb 8, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shoots the ball during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Koby Brea is without question the best shooter in college basketball, but like every player in the sport, he is susceptible to hot and cold games. Brea seems to be the spark plug for this basketball team, as they win games when he plays well and lose when he does not. In SEC play, Brea is averaging 11.7 points per game in the team's six wins and only 6.3 points per game in their six losses.

This shows how valuable Brea is to this basketball team and why Mark Pope desperately needs to see his sharpshooter play more consistent basketball.

Kentucky really needed Brea to step up on Saturday against the Texas Longhorns, but he wasn't able to do this, scoring only four points all at the free throw line and going 0-6 from the field and 0-4 from three. This was a game where the Wildcats needed some threes from Brea with Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler out, and he wasn't able to get it done.

If Kentucky wants to avoid playing on Wednesday in Nashville, they need to go 4-2 or better over their final six games. They will likely be without Butler and Robinson for a few more games, so Brea needs to play his best basketball of the season in the next handful of games.

Brea is a player this basketball team really wants to see playing well when the postseason comes around in the next few weeks. If Brea gets hot for three in March, it will make the Wildcats a sneaky team.