MILWAUKEE — Kobe Brea had 23 points and Otega Oweh added 15 to pace third-seeded Kentucky to an 84-75 victory over No. 6 Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region on Sunday.

Kentucky (24-11) will face second-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Indianapolis.

Kentucky hit its first five shots of the second half for a 10-0 run. Amari Williams turned into a steal into a breakaway jam to put the Wildcats up 47-32 to cap the run three minutes into the frame.

Brea scored 10 consecutive points for Kentucky for a 70-54 lead with 9 1/2 minutes remaining.

Kylan Boswell’s jumper from the right wing pulled the Illini within 74-68, but Andrew Carr countered with a drive to make it 76-68 with 1:13 left.

The Wildcats hit eight free throws over the final 1:01 to preserve the victory and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

Boswell had 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic 19 and Kasparas Jakucionis 13 for the Illini (22-13).

Kentucky scored 26 points off 14 Illinois turnovers and had 18 assists on its 32 field goals.

Brea hit 10 of 16 shots, including 3 of 8 beyond the arc, and Oweh was 6 of 12. Lamont Butler added 14 points and Williams pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Illini had a 44-36 advantage on the boards, including 12 offensive rebounds, but had just a 9-6 edge in second-chance points.

Kentucky hit 10 of its first 16 shots to open an early double-digit lead. Brea’s 3-pointer put the Wildcats up 23-13 with 9:40 left in the half.

Jakucionis’ 3- pointer from the top pulled the Illini within 35-32 with 36 seconds remaining in the first half.

Trent Noah was fouled on a long 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds left and hit two from the line for a 37-32 lead at the break.

Boswell hit 5 of 7 shots in the first half, while the rest of the Illini were a combined 7 of 21.