Kentucky was the most connected they have been defensively this season against Illinois

Mark Pope says the team still has even more room to improve defensively.

Mar 23, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) reacts after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball is headed to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, and as a team with one of the best offenses in the country, it was actually their efforts on the defensive end that got it done against 6-seed Illinois on Sunday.

According to coach Mark Pope, that was the most connected Kentucky has been on that end of the floor all season, and it certainly looked like it. Kentucky's switching and communication were on point all night long. Pope raved about their efforts on the defensive end on his radio show Monday. It's an area that has seen very significant improvement over the last month, all while facing the adversity of injuries and managing the rotation in that span.

"What I thought was great about the game against Illinois, it was probably the most connected we've been on defense. Probably the best communication we've had on defense. That's clearly far from perfect. Probably the best do-both performance that we've had on defense and all that kind of comes from the guys being really together. ...(Bart) Torvik actually had us as the second-best defensive performing team in the NCAA Tournament so far. Houston was one and we were two. Certainly that's been great progress for our guys since where we were six weeks ago. Our guys are really proud of that. They're taking it personal. If we wanna have a chance to be successful moving forward, we've got to keep dumbing down on that and it's exciting that the guys know that, they feel it and they're chasing it."

Pope on Kentucky's defense.

Kentucky definitely made their presence known on that end of the floor on Sunday against the Fighting Illini, and it turned out to be the overall story of the game. The Wildcats forced 14 Illini turnovers, while converting 26 points off of them, compared to Illinois having just eight points off of five Kentucky turnovers. Their improvements defensively does raise the thought of where their defense ranks among teams in the Sweet 16.

If the Wildcats can keep that defensive intensity up, that could bode well against 2-seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16, who Kentucky swept in the regular season. That same exact energy will be needed again in the second weekend of the tournament.