Mark Pope delivered good news to the Kentucky Wildcats faithful ahead of March Madness, updating the status of injured guard Lamont Butler.

Full transcript from Mark Pope, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams from Kentucky's postgame press conference after getting blown out by Alabama 99-70 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

UK was without fifth-year guard Lamont Butler for the contest after he reinjured his left shoulder on Thursday night during Kentucky’s SEC Tournament second round win over Oklahoma. Prior to Friday’s game, Pope offered a positive injury update on Butler, indicating that Butler will be back for Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament run next week.

Mark Pope didn’t take Kentucky’s loss to Alabama in the SEC quarterfinals lightly. After edging out Oklahoma in the second round, the Crimson Tide took it to the Wildcats. With a chance to put a stamp on their NCAA Tournament resume and advance to the semifinals,

Kentucky basketball has had a few extra days off to rest before the NCAA Tournament after getting smashed by Alabama in the SEC tournament quarterfinals on Friday night by a score of 99-70. During that game,

As the Wildcats prepare for their first-round clash, fans are hopeful that Butler’s return can spark the team and set the tone for a successful tournament run. Kentucky’s road to the Final Four begins Friday night, and with their star guard back in action, they’ll look to make a statement right out of the gate.

As they typically do, Kentucky fans are expected to travel in large numbers to watch the Wildcats in the SEC Tournament this week. The tournament officially tipped off on Wednesday, but UK is not scheduled to play until Thursday,

Sunday night was the most highly anticipated evening in college basketball as the bracket for the NCAA Tournament was announced. Kentucky ended up being the third seed in the Midwest Region, and they will get things started with a matchup against the Troy Trojans on Friday.